In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, hundreds of members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the weekend, celebrated the victory of Sen. Ahmed Makarfi who has recognised by the Supreme Court as the authentic leader of the party in Nigeria.
At a well-attended meeting at Ode Aje area of Ibadan North East Local Government Area, the party leaders slaughtered a cow to celebrate the victory.
Supporters went into frenzy as jubilant party members danced to the rhythm of the victory songs intoned by party chiefs to celebrate the Supreme Court’s judgment.
The chairman of Oyo PDP Caretaker Committee, Dr Muraina Ajibola represented by the state secretary of the party, Abiodun Adedoja Ekolo, sued for peace and appealed to members to begin house-to-house mobilisation of all PDP members and supporters of other political parties into the PDP fold.
Adedoja thanked the leaders who stood by the party while the national leadership crisis lasted, especially a former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Jumoke Akinjide; Senator Ayoade Adeseun; former Chief of Staff in the state, Dr Saka Balogun and a former Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola.
Others at the event included a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Michael Lana; former chairman in Ona Ara, Akeem Taiwo Oke; his counterparts in Ibadan South East Local Government and Oluyole local councils, Alhaji Mogaji Alesinloye and Lasun Salami, council’s party chairman, Alhaji Musa Babajide and Moses Adeyanju.
He urged the PDP members to embrace other members in Senator Ali Modu Sheriff’s camp, since Makarfi had declared that the judgment meant ‘no victor, no vanquished.’
Lana, in his short welcome address, assured members that with the judgment of Wednesday, the PDP’s rebirth had commenced in earnest, assuring that the days of the ruling party in the state were numbered as PDP would take over Agodi Government House by 2019.
He then commended all and sundry for believing in the party as “a truly people-friendly party,” that would take the state to its place of enviable height among other states in the country.
