The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has endorsed Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde as leader of the opposition party in the south-west zone.
The Lagos State chapter of the party pledged its support for Makinde during a stakeholders’ meeting at the government house, Ibadan, on Saturday, The Cable reports.
Makinde and former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose have been embroiled in a tussle for the control of the party in the south-west zone.
According to a statement by Taiwo Adisa, Chief Press secretary to the governor, the leaders of PDP in Lagos expressed gratitude to Makinde for his leadership in the region.
The statement quoted the caretaker zonal chairman of the PDP, Dayo Ogungbenro, to have affirmed Makinde as the leader of the party in the zone.
Adisa quoted Waliu Hassan, deputy chairman of the PDP in Lagos, and Rita Orji, the former house of representatives member, as saying Makinde should continue leading the party in the region.
The party chieftains said members of the PDP in Lagos have agreed to resolve their crisis so as to ensure that the party takes over the baton of leadership come 2023.
The PDP leaders said, “The purpose of today’s meeting, to be very precise, is to thank Governor Makinde for standing by the party and to pledge total loyalty to his leadership of the South-West. No more, no less.
“We can tell you that the governor does not want anything from us. He, as the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State, needs nothing from the party, rather we are the ones who came all the way from Lagos, to plead with him to keep leading the party.
“We resolved to, irrespective of any rancor, move the party forward and we will ensure that the party takes its better seat in 2023.
“We did not come here to discuss who takes anything for zonal congress. The congress will soon come up and for all we care, we have come to restate our commitment to our own governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, and we stand by him anywhere he is going on the issue of the South West.”