A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Seyi Makinde, has expressed disappointment with the defection of the former leader of the PDP and ex-governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). He stressed that he did not in any way drive him away from the main opposition party.
Makinde, a governorship aspirant, made this disclosure yesterday in Ibadan during a chat with journalists at his campaign office.
He said, “I am indeed disappointed that Baba left, but you people could have seen how much efforts I made to reach out to Baba. There is no way a son can drive his father away from his abode. But we have put the disappointment behind us and we are forging ahead.
“If you look at the party structure, you will see that over 80 per cent of the party local government chairmen are still with the party. And in the number 30 out of the 35 are still with the party, and the others are still on their way. For the state executive, close to 90 per cent of them are still with us.
“True, we had a minor disagreement over the Congress issue, but everybody including the national leadership and the zonal leadership of the party came to Ibadan to appeal to Baba. The national leadership chartered a flight to this place to appeal to him. I believe everybody did their best. But the fact is that one can force a horse to the river, but he cannot force it to drink water.”
“But I think, we will still continue to talk to Baba. If there is an opportunity for a rethink, he is my father and he is also a High Chief of Ibadanland, and a factor to reckon with in the politics of the state. We cannot disrespect him. We will still continue to reach out to him. But having said that, we have to do what we have to do”, he said.
