The two factions in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have resolved their differences and reunited.
One of the factions was loyal to late Sen. Buruji Kashamu while a former member of the House of Representatives, Oladipupo Adebutu, is leading the other.
After over a decade of crisis and court orders, members of both factions, on Wednesday, reunited and vowed to reclaim the state during the 2023 elections.
Members of the factions met during a reunion meeting held at the party’s secretariat, in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The leaders of the two factions resolved to work together towards strengthening the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
Leading the Kashamu faction, Segun Seriki declared that the party will henceforth operate under the Sikirullahi Ogundele-led executive, thereby collapsing the other faction which has Samson Bamgbose as the chairman.
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Seriki expressed regret that the crisis robbed the PDP the chances of returning to power since 2011 when the party was defeated at the expiration of Gbenga Daniel’s tenure.
He called on party members to be committed to the reunion and work towards rebuilding the party for victory in 2023 election.
Bamgbose applauded the party’s leaders for reconciling the warring factions.
He asked the PDP leaders and supporters to be ready for the battle to unseat the ruling party in 2023.
“We are going to the battle front. We must be ready and win,” he said.
Ogundele said the reunion marked the beginning of a new relationship that would drive the party to power in 2023.
He said, “I am happy that the PDP of 2003 is now back. We are now together in harmony, looking forward to having a united PDP in Ogun State.
“We are going to get back our mandate from the misrule of the APC, a party that has no blueprint.
They just wake up in the morning and embark on any project that comes to their head. They give water or road where not needed. The PDP is the best party so far and we are winning in 2023.”
A former spokesperson to former Presidents Olusegun Obadanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, expressed happiness over the reunion.
He, however, cautioned leaders in the party that “there will still be fight, there cannot be equality. Disagreement is not disloyalty, if we don’t disagree, we can’t agree to move forward. There is a way to go about everything.”
Adebutu in his remarks enjoined party members to work in harmony, adding that the party has come as the alternative choice.“The people of Ogun State need a platform to rescue them; the PDP has come to rescue Ogun residents and Nigerians from the sufferings by the APC,” he said.