Barely five weeks to the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, the national body of the party set up a 24-man committee to reconcile aggrieved party members.
Recall that the party had fixed January 28, 2022, to the party primaries election and about 17 aspirants were to participate in the election.
The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by the National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu gathered all 17 governorship aspirants on Monday in Abuja as well as stakeholders including former Governors Ayo Fayose, Segun Oni, and ex-deputy governor, Senator Biodun Olujimi in a meeting with a committee set up to reconcile them ahead of the election.
The committee set up by the party on Tuesday is made up of seven governors, seven Board of Trustees members, eight members of the National Working Committee (NWC), as well as the PDP National Assembly caucus leadership.
Briefing newsmen at the party’s National Secretariat, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, who said that the party will not impose any candidate, added that the NWC will go the whole distance to ensure unity among its stakeholders and members in the state.
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He said: “All stakeholders agreed to work together in the process. We have agreed that the parties that are involved in it should get back to Ekiti and apply an Ekiti Formula for the resolution of the issues, meaning they will go back and meet privately, discuss all issues that were raised at the meeting and then report back to the National Working Committee and the committee before the end of the year.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting with the aggrieved party stakeholders, Ologunagba described same as “a good outing,” as “everyone spoke their mind.
“We are able to come up with an understanding that there is need for us as a party to be united in Ekiti for the interest of the party and particularly for the interest of Nigerians because you know Nigerians look forward to PDP to create hope for them in the next election cycle and for that reason, we have resolved as a party to stay united in Ekiti.
“It was a very cordial meeting. You could see people were laughing and having banters and in all, the areas of crisis and resolutions are coming closer and expect that at the end of their meetings, we will have a good story to tell about Ekiti state.
“We are not imposing any position, Ekiti people will decide what they want to do and we will only be a moderator and to help them in achieving the goal of uniting the party, the process started well, it is good, we are happy with the outcome so far.”
Ologunagba ruled out the possibility of imposing a candidate, noting that only Ekiti people will decide who their preferred flag bearer would be.
