Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, sent what appeared to be a subtle shade at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declaring that he does not “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters.”
Makinde made the remark while addressing newsmen shortly after the Southern Zoning Consultative Summit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held on Thursday in Lagos.
The meeting, which attracted the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Senator Adolphus Wabara, chairman of the party’s National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa state governor, Douyo Diri, Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun state, Peter Mba of Enugu represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, former Osun governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Bode George, and Senator Monsurat Sunmonu.
Others include 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members and key stakeholders of the party from across the southern states. The summit was aimed at fostering unity and charting the course for the party ahead of the forthcoming party’s national congress.
Responding to questions on threats of division within the party and attacks from aggrieved members, Makinde hinted at the party’s leadership style, indirectly shading Minister Nyesom Wike.
“Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are not going into the gutters. We will reach out to them. That is democracy.
“I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians because they are watching,” Makinde stated.
The Oyo governor added that despite challenges, recent elections had shown that the PDP remained a formidable force.
“In all our states, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most other places of the 12 states, PDP came second. It is an indication to us that if we continue to work hard, we can reclaim the confidence of Nigerians,” he said.
The zoning consultative meeting comes just days before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP scheduled for Monday, where critical decisions are expected to be taken on the party’s future.
Governor Makinde, who also reeled out the calibre of party’s national and zonal leaders, stressed that the summit reflected the seriousness of the party to rebuild with a view to providing a more formidable opposition for the ruling party ahead of the next general election.
Fielding questions from journalists over another purported meeting of southern PDP stakeholders, Governor Makinde said: “Governor Ademola Adeleke is here.
“He came back into the country this morning and went straight to address some governance issues before joining us. Governor Douye Diri is also here. Governor Peter Mbah, who could not make it physically, sent his deputy governor.
“You have the chairman of the Board of Trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the zoning committee from the South.
“In each zone, there are representatives of senators, House of Representatives members, and BOT members. So, this shows wide representation.”
The governor, however, admitted that political meetings hardly achieve 100 percent attendance but emphasized that “consultation means you keep reaching out, you keep engaging.” He assured that critical party stakeholders not in attendance at the Lagos meeting would be reached out to.
When asked about discussions on zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South, Makinde said the party was not yet at that stage.
“We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat.
“Our efforts right now are directed towards having a vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again,” he said.
