PDP members in Oyo warn Governor Makinde that they will leave if candidates are imposed on them

GOVERNOR Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has been told by the members of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that some of them will defect and leave if the powers-that-be impose candidates on them during the forthcoming primaries.

Over the next month, the PDP, like most other parties, will be picking its candidates for the various elective offices to be contested next year. However, some members of the Oyo State chapter of the party have told Governor Makinde that they will have no option but to dump the PDP if some leaders and members of a cabal impose candidates on them.

These party members who have christened themselves Concerned People Frontiers (CPF), have raised an alarm that some leaders in the party have perfected plans to impose some candidates on the members ahead of the 2023 elections. They added that this was being planned through the use of  kangaroo primaries in some constituencies across the state.

Adewale Ajani, the coordinator of the group and Kunle Fasasi, its secretary, appealed to Governor Makinde to guide against any attempt to impose candidates on the members. They urged the governor  to tell leaders and members of the cabal not to create more division in the party.

They added that any attempt to impose candidates will be resisted. However, they threatened that if the leaders and the cabals succeeded in imposing the candidates, they will have no option but to dump the PDP.

Mr Ajani said: “We want to use this medium to appeal to His Excellency, Governor Makinde as the father to all in our great party, the PDP, to appeal to those planning consensus and imposition through kangaroo primaries to desist from such acts. Information available to us is that some cabal within the party, who have their tentacles across various constituencies are planning kangaroo primaries where genuine consensus has failed.

“We got to know that they have perfected plan to have filled the ballot boxes with votes of their preferred candidates before the commencement of the primaries. Any attempt to do that will be resisted and if they succeeded with the help of thugs, we would have no option than to dump the party. We have resolved to support and rally round any aspirant that may emerge as candidate if the primaries are free, fair and follow democratic tenets."