Bode George sowing seeds of discord, says PDP

Adewale Oladipo, national secretary of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has accused
Bode George, former deputy chairman of the
party, of “playing divisive politics by
attempting to pit party members against one
another” in the PDP.
Oladipo was reacting to a communiqué
reportedly issued by PDP leaders in the
southwest calling on him to resign. He said he
would not resign, positing that a few
individuals were bent on sowing a seed of
discord in the southwest zone of the PDP.
“My attention has been drawn to a
communiqué purportedly issued by some PDP
leaders in the southwest calling on me, the
national secretary, Adewale Oladipo and the
national auditor, Adewole Adeyanju, to resign
from the National Working Committee,” a
statement signed by Oladipo read.
“According to the communiqué, the resignation
was to pave way for the dissolution of the
National Working Committee as the fallout of
the 2015 general election.
“However, a very careful examination of the
inherent breaches in the procedures adopted in
the convening of the meeting as well as the
content and tone of its resolution shows an
orchestration by a few individuals bent on
sowing a seed of discord within the PDP fold in
the zone.
“This is evident in the fact that the said
communiqué in no way reflected the views of
majority of those who attended the meeting,
neither did it tally with the opinion of the
generality of our party members in the region.
“It is indeed undermining and a clear breach of
protocol the fact that a meeting of some leaders
of the zone would be convened to discuss
issues of the party’s Presidential campaigns
and the highest-ranking national officers of the
party from the zone were excluded. This is in
continuation of the apparent marginalization of
the National Working Committee and the party
structure at all levels in the handling of the
presidential campaigns.
“Moreso, even some of those who attended the
meeting were not privy to the agenda and the
eventual content of the communiqué issued at
the end. In view of the above therefore, it will be
absolutely unpatriotic and against the wishes
and aspirations of majority of our party
members from the southwest through whose
mandate we occupy the offices of the National
Secretary and the National Auditor respectively,
if we concede to the demands in the
communiqué, especially given the fact that as
elected members of the National Working
Committee, our positions have a tenure which
lasts until March 2016.
“Moreover, members of the PDP in Osun state,
my primary constituency, have already passed
a vote of confidence on me in my capacity as
the National Secretary.
“Furthermore, while some of those asking us to
resign performed very poorly even in their
polling units, it is on record that the National
Auditor and my humble self performed
creditably and delivered our areas in the
general election.
“It is therefore disheartening that rather than
joining other well-meaning members of our
great party in supporting the National Working
Committee in the ongoing re-engineering
process to rebuild the PDP, some elders from
our zone, particularly, a former deputy national
chairman, Olabode George, who should know,
have instead resorted to divisive politics by
attempting to instigate our members against
one another.
“What our party needs now in the southwest
and indeed across the country is for all hands
to be on the deck as we work harmoniously in
our determination to reposition the PDP to
regain power in 2019.
“Our party members are by this therefore
charged to watch out for individuals whose
agenda is to sow seeds of discord and pave
way for crisis within our fold for their selfish
interests.
“The National Working Committee is now more
than ever before determined to rebuild the PDP
and restore its glory as the preeminent political
party in Nigeria. This resolve is irrevocable and
we shall not allow ourselves to be distracted in
anyway by any person under any guise
whatsoever.”