Obasanjo's exit caused PDP problems - Gbenga Daniel

Former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, says the current leadership crises rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was due to the exit of erstwhile President, Olusegun Obasanjo.


Recall that the former ruling party has been in crisis since its May 21, 2016 National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State which saw the inauguration of its Caretaker Committee led by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi.

PDP had explained that the Makarfi-led committee was inaugurated following the completion of the tenure of its embattled National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff.

The party’s crises further deepened on August 17, 2016 as the party in its rescheduled and botched National Convention in Port Harcourt extended the committee’s tenure by one year.

Sheriff has, however, continued to insist that his tenure will expire in 2019 and conflicting court judgments have further fueled the crises.

However, Daniel while featuring on a private radio programme, Sweet FM’s “Poduim” in Abeokuta, the state capital urged both Makarfi and Sheriff to close rank in order to ensure victory at the polls in 2019.

According to Daniel, “While I was the governor of Ogun State, Makarfi was a governor, also while I was still the governor, Ali Modu-Sheriff was also a governor. So the two of them are close to me. The two sides must work together, because the road to victory has no room for divisionism.

“It is not only the PDP that has crisis, the APC also has its own share of crisis. The only difference is that while, we in the PDP have not been able to manage our own, the APC has been able to manage their own.

“If it were the time President Olusegun Obasanjo was still in the party, we would have gone to him and one way or the other, he would have resolved the crisis. Currently, there are many local champions in the party. The party does no longer have a spirit.”