The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Barrister Hazeem Gbolarumi, has declared that the party is not dead and cannot be collapsed into another political platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Gbolarumi, a former Deputy Governor of the state, also said he would perform better than Governor Seyi Makinde if elected governor, while accusing the incumbent administration of doing very little in the areas of youth empowerment, job creation and economic development.
The PDP candidate made the declarations on Sunday during a media parley with journalists in Ibadan, where he spoke on the state of the party, the performance of the Makinde administration and his plans for Oyo State ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
On the survival of the PDP amid ongoing political realignments ahead of the election, Gbolarumi insisted that the party remained strong and had structures across the state.
He said individuals or groups interested in joining the PDP were welcome, but ruled out any possibility of the party being collapsed into another political platform.
“We cannot collapse PDP into another party. They can only come to join us.
“PDP is not dead. We have a lot of structure and we have been talking with stakeholders,” he said.
Gbolarumi also dismissed suggestions that he had abandoned the PDP at any point, saying, “I have never defected.”
The former deputy governor said he remained a grassroots politician and would rely on direct engagement with communities and stakeholders in his campaign for the 2027 election.
“I am a grassroots politician,” he said.
Assessing the Makinde administration, Gbolarumi criticised the government’s economic policies, particularly its handling of youth unemployment and empowerment.
He said many young people who had graduated from tertiary institutions remained without jobs, while others with useful skills lacked the necessary opportunities and support to put their abilities to productive use.
“Seyi has done nothing about economic empowerment, which is one of our five-point agenda. Many youths are jobless, they have graduated, what are we doing about that? Our youths need to be empowered. Some of them have skills,” he said.
The PDP candidate said his proposed administration would focus on education, infrastructure, healthcare, justice, equity and sustainable economic development.
Gbolarumi also criticised the practice of distributing money and food items to voters during political campaigns, saying such gestures should not be confused with genuine empowerment.
“It’s not about giving people money while campaigning. Why are you sharing money? You don’t need that. People are very wise now, they will collect your money and will not vote for you,” he said.
He said his campaign would instead focus on presenting policies capable of addressing unemployment, infrastructure deficits, education and other challenges confronting residents of the state.
Gbolarumi further criticised the performance of the Makinde administration, although he acknowledged that the government had recorded some achievements which could be retained by a future administration.
“He has done very little. He cannot do everything. As regards rating the administration, I allow the masses to rate,” he said.
The PDP candidate said his administration would not automatically discard every project or policy inherited from Makinde, noting that some of the existing initiatives could be useful to the people.
“He has done a little. We will make use of some of it,” Gbolarumi said.
He said the focus of his administration would be on expanding opportunities for young people and creating an environment where residents could use their skills to become economically productive.
On the internal affairs of the PDP, Gbolarumi dismissed claims that the party remained divided along factional lines.
He said the party had moved beyond the previous divisions associated with the Wike and Makinde camps and was now operating as one political organisation.
“There is no faction in the party anymore. There is nothing like Wike faction or Makinde faction. It is one PDP now,” he said.
Gbolarumi also said becoming governor should not automatically make an individual the leader of the party, stressing the importance of respecting the party’s established leadership and structure.
“I don’t believe being the governor automatically makes you the leader of the party. We need to respect the party leaders and structure,” he said.
Speaking on campaign financing, Gbolarumi acknowledged that financial resources would be required to prosecute an effective political campaign but maintained that money alone would not determine the success of a political party.
“Financial power, money is not everything,” he said.
He said his campaign would spend money on legitimate mobilisation and other necessary activities but would not make indiscriminate distribution of cash to voters its strategy.
“We will not come out to share money to anybody. We will spend money for several necessary things. We will do our best for the people of Oyo State to know that we are the best,” he said.
The PDP governorship candidate expressed confidence in his ability to govern Oyo State if elected in 2027, saying his administration would improve on what he described as shortcomings in the present government.
“I can do better than Makinde,” he declared.
Gbolarumi, who emerged as the PDP governorship candidate after the party’s May 2026 primary, said his experience as a former deputy governor and grassroots politician would help him understand the challenges facing residents across the state.
He called on PDP members and stakeholders to remain committed to the party and work together ahead of the 2027 election.
Present at the media parley were the PDP state chairman, Prof. Rahman Akinoso; Organising Secretary, Olaniyi Stephen; Auditor of the State Working Committee, Hon. Ajagbe Oladotun; Ibadan South-East II representative, Taiwo Jimoh, popularly known as Solution; Chairman of the Chairmen Forum, Hon. Abiola Jimoh; and Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Chesterfield Efe.
