A fresh political crisis is looming in the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over an alleged plot to dissolve the Party Executives from the ward to the state level.
This is in order to accommodate loyalists of the former Governor Olusegun Mimiko who recently joined the party from the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
It was gathered that this is the first assignment expected to be carried out by the new National Working Committee (NWC) led by Senator Iyorchia Ayu immediately its takes over the affairs of the party today.
A caretaker committee that may likely be led by Mimiko’s loyalist will be put in place pending the time the party conducts a fresh congress in the state.
It was gatjered that the dissolution of the Ondo PDP exco was the highlight of a meeting between Mimiko and the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike in Portharcourt on Thursday.
Mimiko with the former ZLP governorship candidate in the 2020 governorship election in the state, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, former Ondo State Speaker, Jumoke Akindele and among others had officially rejoined PDP a week to the October 30, National Convention of the party.
It will be recalled that Mimiko, before officially announcing his defection, met behind closed doors with four PDP governors led by its chairman of the PDP governors forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tamnbuwal at his residence in Ondo town, Ondo State.
Other governors who were in the meeting included Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
Although, while addressing reporters shortly after the meeting, Mimiko and his guests refused to comment on the issue of dissolution of the State Executives.
A reliable source within the PDP camp in the state disclosed that at the meeting, Mimiko got the nod of these PDP governors to push for the dissolution of the current PDP state executives from the ward to the state level.
It was gathered that both Wike and Tambuwal, who are allegedly nursing a Presidential ambition as a running mate and Presidential candidate respectively in the 2023 general elections, were the ones pushing for Mimiko to take over the structure of the party in the state.
The current PDP Executive led by its State Chairman, Hon Fatai Adams is believed to have been put in place and loyal to the party former governorship candidate, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN.
It was learnt that Jegede is one of the core loyalists of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and who is also re-strategizing on how to put his political structures in place ahead of the 2023 general elections.
A PDP chieftain, who spoke in confidence, revealed that “PDP governors deliberately distanced themselves from Jegede’s campaign during the last governorship election in Ondo State just because of his attachment to Atiku project. He was the state coordinator for Atiku during the 2019 Presidential election and he delivered the state for Atiku.
“These governors are only threatened and they believed that supporting Jegede to become a governor would only be a plus to the Presidential ambition of Atiku, hence, they decided to give an eyeservice.
“We are keenly monitoring Mimiko’s movement, particularly his romance with these two Governors, Wike and Tambuwal who believe they owned the party.
“We are aware of this grand plot to dissolve Fatai Adams led’s executive immediately the National Working Committee of the party officially takes over the affairs of the party and we are battle-ready to fight these two governors and their emissaries legally.
“Mimiko, after he dumped our party (PDP) in 2018 to return to Labour Party (LP) and later ZLP, left the party in shattered. We rebuilt the party from the scratch.
“During the 2019 National Assembly election, our party did excellently well by producing two senators out of the three and three House of Representatives lawmakers. Even Mimiko who participated in the poll as the Ondo central senatorial candidate of ZLP came third third”.
“In Ondo PDP, Mimiko must wait for his time. We are aware that he was in Rivers State recently on Wike’s invitation to commission a project. No amount of project commissioning in Rivers state by Mimiko will change the already established political structure in Ondo State”.
But, a former commissioner in the state, who recently rejoined PDP urged the old PDP members to give room for the new entrants to thrive in the party.
