Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said that all party members and leaders are winners in the zonal congress which held on Monday in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, where Hon. Taofeek Arapaja emerged as the PDP chairman for the zone.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, George declared that now was the moment to mend the broken places, reconcile and rebuild without any recourse to personal triumphalism.
The party chieftain, while congratulating the Oyo State governor, Engnr. Seyi Makinde for his humility and sportsmanship; all the contestants on both sides of the divide as well as all party leaders for their dedication and genuine commitment towards healing and reconciliation, noted that the exercise had injected and infused a new mandate of hope and renewal not only in the PDP but also across Yorubaland.
“The South-West Congress held in Oshogbo yesterday has injected and infused a new mandate of hope and renewal not only in the People’s Democratic Party but also across Yorubaland.
“This is now the moment to mend the broken places, to reconcile and rebuild without any recourse to personal triumphalism. We are all winners.
“I congratulate all the contestants on both sides of the divide. I congratulate all our leaders for their dedication and genuine commitment towards healing and reconciliation.
“And most importantly, I congratulate Governor Seyi Makinde for his humility, for his sportsmanship, for his sworn commitment to bring back the South-West to her deserved leadership status not only in the affairs of our party but in the reckoning of our national template,” Chief George said.
The PDP chieftain, who is also the Atona Odua of Yorubaland, while noting that a new journey had started and a new hope had risen with the horizon looking bright and appealing for the main opposition party, said the zonal congress held in Osogbo had affirmed members’ commitment to a peaceful engagement even when they disagreed among themselves.
According to him, such has shown that disputes and differences need not fester into violence and communal disruptions.
“Yes, democracy is about the pitting of ideas, the grappling with conflicting views and interests. But in the end, there is always an arrival at a consensus building, the initiation of compromise, the settlement of rifts through the pacific largeness of the ballot box,” he submitted.
