A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Akinwumi, has given an indication that a former governor of the state, Chief Segun Oni, will soon return to the PDP in the state. Nigeria Tribune reports.
Akinwumi, who is a PDP state chairmanship aspirant for the forthcoming state congress, also urged the national leadership of the party to keep faith with the state chapter to bounce back to reckoning in Ekiti.
The former commissioner for water resources stated this at the weekend while addressing journalists and the party members on his intention to contest the state PDP chairmanship position in the June congress.
He said efforts are on to reposition the party and address all issues responsible for its past failures in the political space of the state.
He said: “Governor Oni does not want people to rubbish him as a man of unquestionable character.
He is only waiting for all the crisis in the party to end before making the move and we are on talking terms.
“I was the chairman of the contact and mobilisation for him when he contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the governorship in 2022 and we came second. We are repositioning and resolving all issues giving us a bad name in Ekiti PDP.”
On the allegation of anti-party activities by the former Governor Ayo Fayose, the chairmanship hopeful said: “What is on ground now will clearly show where everyone stands in the party and real PDP owners are back and we will take what belongs to us.
“Fayose, being both PDP and APC, is part of politics.
“There is time for everything under heaven, but that will fizzle out in another four months from now.
“The nucleus and the majority of the party PDP members, who were then in the repositioning group, had moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before the last governorship poll due to intimidation of our members and you can see that SDP still managed to win house of assembly seats in the last general election in the state.”
The former commissioner said part of his mission is to win Ekiti governorship election for the party in 2026 as a prelude to the 2027 general election.
“It is also to ensure internal party cohesion, discipline and inclusivity, to improve reward system to party members and leaders and to ensure smooth leadership succession in the party, “he said.
Akinwumi promised to return the PDP to the original owners, claiming that the crisis in the party in the state is being fuelled by some greedy people who do not have the interest of the party at heart.
He added that all past PDP governors, deputy governors, state and federal lawmakers had tried and did their best to develop the state.
Speaking on ambition, Akinwumi said: “Our party in Ekiti is in the doldrums and there is an urgent need to draw us out. Here is the man who knows the way. If I look at the sum total of my exposure, political experience, residual knowledge and every other thing, it gives me sufficient latitude to say that I should be sent to do the work and I will do it well.”
