Following the announcement by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Oyo state that the Alliance for Democracy (AD) has collapsed its structure, former aspirants, candidates and card-carrying members of the Alliance For Democracy (AD), have debunked the news
Stakeholders in the party on Tuesday, speaking through Hon. Adekanmbi Temilade Shangodoyin, the spokesperson of AD’s former Aspirants and Candidates Stakeholders Vanguard (ACSV), said the information of a collapsed structure is nothing but mere rumours.
They said, “sequel to the rumour that has been going around in the media that the Alliance for Democracy’s structure in Oyo State has been collapsed into the People Democratic Party (PDP), Oyo state chapter, it is known that AD metamorphosed from being a Group of Action People of Yoruba descendant (Action Group) to this present day name AD, the structure has never died nor collapsed for this long time because it’s an ideology and not an intention.
“We were a group first before being a party, currently there are about over 500,000 registered and unregistered members of the AD still existing in Oyo State, their registers still exist in the district, LG wards, and polling units in records with the authentic AD members and few other stakeholders.
“We, the stakeholders in the party are using this medium to debunk rumours of the collapse of our existing state structure into any party, our great party still remain the authentic and only existing structure that can be traced to the Action Group political dynasty of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we have decided to retain the unflinching Awo ideology, just as we have received it from the past generation and we are working tirelessly, doing all it takes in the resurgence of an established party of the southwestern Nigeria that is built on the original progressive minded individuals for the sake of the coming generations.
“Governor Seyi Makinde, PDP Oyo state, and the general public are to be informed and be notified that the group of people patronising and parading themselves as AD in Oyo state PDP are the former AD members that had defected to the PDP before the 2019 general election, even before the stakeholders meeting where we agreed to give our vote to Engr. Seyi Makinde in the state at Jogor Centre Ring road who was already considered a PDP member by all the stakeholders.
“At the time when many of these people have represented PDP interest, even when meeting with us in the AD party on behalf of PDP, some of this few decamped people even got an appointment in this administration of Gov. Seyi Makinde as a PDP member and can no longer speak on our behalf,” they said.
Speaking further, Hon. Shangodoyin stated that “the fact that Oyo state and precisely Ibadan is the political capital of Nigeria’s democracy can be attributed to the efforts of our political founding fathers of Western Nigeria, it is imperative that this ideology is immortalised by keeping them alive.
“I led the group of AD members of Lagelu local government, Ibadan north local government led by honourable Abayomi Oluwayemi and some other members present at the last meeting held at Jogor Centre, where it was decided that the party members should vote in support of the PDP governorship candidate in 2019 general election, in the meantime the AD party has not had any general nor any stakeholders meeting in the last three years as the incumbent secretary and the state chairman of the party has been indisposed in recent times, therefore, the argument of collapsed structure has no basis and we urge the public and the members of the great group to debunk it and ignored any news going around,” she said.
