By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that the news making rounds that it is riddled with internal crisis over the choice of governorship candidate zoned to the Northern senatorial district is not true.
The party, in a statement by its state Publicity Seceetary, Prince Tunji Moronfoye, in Ilorin at the weekend, said instead, “The general public is assured that all its aspirants had privately and publicly endorsed the process initiated by the leadership in conjunction with elders from Kwara North.”
He added that all the claims in the publication by a national newspaper (not CompassNG) titled: “Crisis Hits Kwara PDP As Guber Aspirants Reject Micro-zoning” is far from the truth.
He urged the public to note that a communique issued and signed by the PDP aspirants after a meeting with Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki in Abuja on April 12, 2022, where they hailed the painstaking process adopted and followed in the move to select a popular and generally accepted gubernatorial candidate indicared that there was no crisis in Kwara PDP over the issue.
According to him, the comnunique said, “We resolved that the micro-zoning of the gubernatorial ticket to Edu and Patigi locks government areas in Kwara North as suggested by leaders of the senatorial district has further underlined the readiness of our zone to produce the eventual candidate in an atmosphere of peace and unity.”
He said aspirants in the zone aggred that they would without further delay, intensify their consultations with leaders in the zone to come up with the name of the gubernatorial candidate.
The Aspirants were said to have resolved, “We believe that with the systematic, methodical, and all-inclusive approach adopted by the leadership of the party up to this level, whoever the candidate is and whenever he is announced, we will all support the decision and work for the emergence of the candidate as the next governor of the state.
“We also resolved that at the end of the day, no matter which area and which person gets the ticket, it is a win-win situation for all of us. We are all winners and Kwara State people will be the winner.
“We will all go around the entire state to canvass support for the gubernatorial candidate and to further spread the message of unity, hope, and development.
“We wish to state unequivocally, that members of the Kwara PDP family are satisfied with the consensus process adopted in the choice of candidates, particularly with the all-inclusive and painstaking consultations being embarked upon.”
There had been speculations that zonning the governorship ticket to the Northern flank in the PDP at the instance of Dr. Saraki; the acclaimed leader of the parry in Kwara State, former governor of the state and currently a presidential aspirant did not the enjoy the support of a chunk of the menbers.
However, it was observed that he spent substantial part of the begginning of this month in the state, said to be holding several meetings to resolve the issue; and that the zoning at the end, favoured the North flank was an indication that the matter is laid to rest.
