The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Engineer Bayo Dayo has said that the protracted crises that have defined the party pathway in Ogun State can only be resolved through reconciliation which he is committed to, adding that his suspension from the party as the authentic State chairman remains hoarse and illusionary.
He stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from journalists at his residence in Ijebu – Igbo, Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state.
PDP members, loyal to Kashamu, in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Oyejide Sunkanmi had on Monday announced the suspension of Dayo as the State Chairman, citing alleged anti-party activities.
The party had in February suspended Semiu Sodipo as the State Secretary following an Abuja Peace Accord reached by the two factions of PDP in the state.
He rubbished the “suspension,” saying only the National Working Committee of the PDP can take any disciplinary measures against him.
He accused Kashamu of masterminding his “suspension”, using those he described as “amateur politicians,” adding that he fell out with him following his reconciliatory moves to unite the fighting factions of the PDP in the state, a move, he said Kashamu dismiss.
Dayo said PDP’s popularity has been dwindling in the state following the protracted crisis but regretted that Kashamu “is not interested in the unity of the PDP.”
“We tried it in 2011, we failed. We failed in 2015. We failed in 2019. When Senator Buruji Kashamu contested for the Senate in 2015, he had over 120,000 votes, but he only had 70,000 votes when he contested governorship in 2019. It means that we are reducing in popularity and we should not allow that to continue.
“So, I thought if we can end the crises, it will be a big glory before leaving office, but Senator Buruji Kashamu does not want that settlement. He wants to keep giving irrelevant orders. If he gives order sometimes, whether we like it or not, we follow his order, but politics is not run that way.
“He is a very good leader, no doubt. But he is not a good politician. A good politician should be thinking of his followers. We should be thinking of all the young men and women that are behind us. If we don’t win election, how are they going to benefit from government? It’s not going to happen,” he said.
Dayo denied allegation that he collected N50m “to sell” the party structure to the former member of the House of Representatives, Ladi Adebutu’s faction, saying “I’m only interested in the unity of the party.”
Speaking of the congresses earlier conducted in flagrant disregard to the NWC’s directive, Dayo said “The congresses can no more stand because we are doing reconciliation. We don’t want to leave anybody out. It’s going to be all inclusive. So, in our reconciliation efforts, we are going to divide positions in the ward, Local Government and the state.”
Therefore, the Ward and Local Government congresses earlier conducted in the state “can no longer stand” in the spirit of the reconciliatory moves he is championing.
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