January 26, 2014

Obasanjo's Loyalists Divided Over Jonathan's Re-election

Cracks have appeared in the political camp of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as his loyalists are divided. Some of the loyalists want to remain in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while others are in favour of defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

It has been gathered that some of the ex-president’s loyalists, who ruled out the idea of defecting into APC, are behind President Goodluck Jonathan in his second term ambition.

At a meeting of the PDP caucus in Ogun State, held at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Friday night, a motion was moved to decamp to APC.

According to a source at the meeting, the motion to join APC was moved by the Ogun East senatorial chairman, Chief Tayo Ajayi, and was seconded by another elder from Ogun West, Chief Shina Adejobi.

A counter motion was moved by a former lawmaker who represented Ifo I constituency at the state House of Assembly, Hon. Johnson Fatoki, before the motion was put to vote.

14 PDP chairmen out of the 20 across Ogun and two serving members of the state House of Assembly, Job Akintan and Abiodun Akovoyon, also allegedly countered the motion to join the APC. After the move to join APC hit a brickwall, the two groups were advised to continue negotiating with the parties of their choice and report back to the house.

At the meeting, Chief Sunday Alawode was elected interim Chairman of the caucus. Alawode later said the Obasanjo group was not in support of the move to negotiate with the APC.

He said that members of the group were solidly behind the reconciliatory moves by the new Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

“Yes, a meeting was held and someone moved a motion to join the APC and the motion was countered. 14 local government Chairmen and all political functionaries were not in support of the move and since Chief Obasanjo has made it clear he is staying in PDP, we stand by him on that decision,” he said.

“We congratulate the new National Chairman of our party and believe in his ability to reconcile the party in the South-west and Ogun State in particular.

“ We also support President Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition and we are ready to work for its success.”
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