Hon Akeem Ademola Ige, special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde is also the Baameto of Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, a PDP Chieftain and former member Oyo House of Assembly In this interview gave an insight into the level of acceptability of Amb Taofeek Arapaja as Governor Seyi Makinde’s nomination for PDP South West leadership in the South West and move to reconcile aggrieved Members. Excepts:
Few weeks ago Governor Seyi Makinde nominated former Deputy Governor of Oyo state, Amb. Taofeek Oladejo Arapaja for the position of Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP South West and for some days now his teams have been moving around to meet with stakeholders in other states to canvass for their support, what is the level of acceptability
His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde has made a good decision by choosing Amb. Taofeeq Oladejo Arapaja, considering the present situation in the party, The party needs a peace builder, somebody with deep knowledge of crisis management, an administrator per excellence, somebody with political and electoral value , tested and trusted person that can move the party forward this time around and when you look at all this attributes , Amb Arapaja is not found wanting . He is a grass root politician with experience at all levels, he has both the legislative and executive experiences, he has what it takes to lead a party, he was around when PDP was controlling the whole of South West except Lagos and he has relationships with all that matters in the region, so he is no doubt a round peg in a round hole, competent and capable of handling the party affairs in the region and that is why I to salute our leader, Governor Seyi Makinde for nominating him and I have am very optimistic that Amb. Arapaja will not betray the confidence reposed in him by Gov Makinde and others.
As per the level of acceptability, it was awesome and encouraging, In Ondo, Ogun, Osun ,Ekiti even Lagos state, were received warmly by the leaders and executives of the party and they all assured us of their support , When we get to Ondo, we were received by the state chairman, the elders, BoT member, Executives and other stakeholders, They told us the they will support Arapaja because of Governor Makinde’s role during the last gubernatorial election, They said if other stakeholders including former governor Ayodele Fayose played the same role like Gov. Makinde did during the election they wouldn’t have loss. They said it was after the election that they realize that Fayose was hobnobbing with APC Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and they also said they are ready to pay back Gov Makinde with support for his candidate. Also in Ekiti we were warmly hosted by the leaders of the party and state executives at the party secretariat and later at the House of Engineer Segun Oni former governor of the state. They said the problem in the state was caused by Fayose just to continue to pave way for APC and they have decided not to do anything with him again but promised to work with Seyi Makinde and support his candidate Alhaja Bose Adedibu and Amb. Arapaja
In Lagos state, the Leader Bode George and other stakeholders hosted us and assured us of their support during the election. Those that were not at the meeting sent messages assuring us of their support, In Osun state, Governor Olagunsoye Oyinola, and other stakeholders too met us and promised us their support as well. In Ogun state Ambassador Arapaja met with the faction of late Senator Buruji Kashamu and Hon Ladi Adebutu, and he advised them on the need for a united house in the party and they all promise to reconcile and work together. One interesting thing about the candidate of Amb Taofeek Arapaja was that his colleagues when he was a deputy governor, member house of Reps, Ambassador and council chairman who are still in the PDP Promised their support for his candidature, I am very sure that Engineer Seyi Makinde must have done his homework very well before he chooses Amb Arapaja, people like Amb are unifiers , unifying factors for the party
But it was alleged that you are only meeting one faction and not meeting the likes of Fayose Faction and others
That is not an issue for us and we have been working underground , just last week some of this aggrieved party members were me , last week Chief Olabode George was in Ibadan to reconcile some aggrieved people and It has been yielding result and I can assure you we are going to have a united PDP soon
Last week it was rumoured that Engineer Seyi Makinde has concluded plans to dump PDP for APC, It was on the social media ,is there any move like that
My brother that is not true, it was only an antics by the APC to further cause distraction in PDP and confusion in the state, also they want good people in their party, they belief Makinde’s outstanding record will add value to their party and that is why they are doing that but Seyi Makinde is not dumping PDP, he wont leave the party with a prosperous and better future for a party that is going down, APC is loosing face in Nigeria, in the south west here APC has no respect for the people and they are not showing it, look at their leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, left his people in the southwest to celebrate his birthday in the Kano, he was the Pro-chancellor of LAUTECH even when LAUTECH was having crisis he did not even visit nor contribute for the school but recently he promised to build a library for a university in the North , Also some market got burnt even in Lagos, Oyo town he didn’t do anything to assuage the suffering of the victims rather he went to kastina to donate N50Million.. Nigerians belief they are in the bondage of APC and they expect PDP to liberate them and take them to a promise land. Governor Makinde is not joining APC, he has denied it but they are using it to cause confusion but they have failed
You said the end of APC is near but in 2023 there was a clamour to have a president from South West region and already majority of APC members even beyond the region and pushing for Bola Ahmed Tinubu don’t you think his emergence would end PDP in the region
Tinubu is not the best candidate for presidency from South West. He would trade us to negotiate and we may at the end of the day loose out so if we want South West person to rule, Tinubu is not the best option we have so many credible politician from the South West that are more competent and capable from this region. And I can tell you there is no way the PDP will not have more states in the subsequent election.
Your principal Engineer Seyi Makinde will be 2 years in office on May 29 2021, do you think he has justified the mandate giving to him by the people of Oyo state
Governor Seyi Makinde has done excellently well considering the infrastructural development, goog government policies and programs, he has been able to bring human face into governance in Oyo state so he deserved to be commended even on the issue of security, he is trying his best , you know security challenges is a National issue but Governor Makinde is not relenting in ensuring that Oyo state is secured . he has a lot of projects to show
Do you think Engineer Seyi Makinde will sail through the trapped set by the crisis rocking the party and win the second term election?
Crisis is normal in a big party like PDP but the way and manner it is managed determined success in subsequent election, I told you that some leaders are already wading in to reconcile the aggrieved parties. I just read an interview of Alhaji Bisi Olopoeniyan recently the way he responded shows he want the issue resolved and I can assure you everything will be over and PDP will retain the state
