Ondo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebenezer Alabi, who was Vice Chairman, Akure North Local Government Area, speaks with Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, on the reconciliation moves by party members in the state and their determination to unseat the ruling Labour Party (LP).
Future of PDP in Ondo
Ebenezer AlabiThe future of PDP in Ondo State is very bright. With the influx of people into the party now, we are gradually coming back. What the people of the state are praying for is good governance. It is now clear that LP is bringing hardship and poverty. The election that was won by PDP in Ekiti State was a wake-up call to us in Ondo. We are determined to unseat the ruling LP in the state.
Reconciling PDP members in Ondo
The October 20, 2012 in the state came and has gone. We learnt a lot of lessons from that election. One, we went into the election with a divided home because some of our notable leaders worked against the party for one reason or another, and we believe that should not continue. Immediately after the election, we started reconciliation meetings that really brought about complete reconciliation within the party. Today, we are solid and we are together.
I can tell you now that some regretted their actions and I can assure you that today, we are united. Because of the unity in our party, we are having influx of people from LP and the All Progressives Congress (APC). We are now very strong and ready to move, to take over the state from LP.
Integrating ‘PDP Gbasibe’ to the fold
They are all back to our fold. I told you that immediately after the 2012 gubernatorial election, we went to a meeting where we analysed the whole election and reached out to them, asking them why they behaved like that. Eventually, we reconciled. So, everybody that worked for LP under the PDP Gbasibe structure are back in PDP. Prof. Olu Agbi led that team, and today he is back with all his team. Senator Ogunniya is back. Chief Segun Adegoke is back, and now we are meeting, working and strategising. Dr. Dare Bada came back too. He attended our meeting too and he is part of the reconciliation.
Disciplinary action against ‘PDP Gbasibe’
When we are talking of reconciliation, we don’t talk of discipline again. We are reconciling ourselves. They had their own reasons. It might not be tenable to us; but to them, they held up to their own belief which they had the right to do, and because of reconciliation, nobody talks of discipline. We have left the past; today, we have a united and strong party.
Agenda for defected PDP chieftains
We are reaching out to them. We are talking to them, and we receive a lot of people coming to the party nearly on daily basis. I have been to Owo to receive a lot of people. I have been to Isua to receive people. We have done that in Akure South here too where a lot of people from LP joined us. Some days ago, we were at Ile-Oluji to receive a lot of people from LP and APC to our party. In the next one week, we are going to receive a lot of people in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas. We are reaching out to them and they are responding positively.
Unity in the party
We are united and holding our meetings regularly. Meetings are going on at the ward, local government and state levels. Some days ago, we held our State Working Committee (SWC) meeting, which holds every Monday, to strategise for the party. Then, we have Elders’ Caucus meeting too, which came on board immediately after the reconciliation. We meet every fortnight to take decision together. We have the likes of Prof. Agbi, Senator Oguniya, Chief Sola Oke, some top leaders of the party and I there. So we are strong and united.
Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency by-election and Odigbo seat vacancy in the House of Assembly
The procedure is that when there is vacant seat in the legislature, be it state or national, the leadership of the House will notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially. INEC will act on that information to start preparation for that election. But as I am speaking to you today, the House of Assembly of Ondo has yet to communicate INEC officially, and I see the hand of government on this because they are afraid of election. On this House of Assembly issue, we have been to INEC. Unfortunately, in my last visit to INEC, the leadership of the House had not notified the electoral body. We have made representation to them on the need for them to notify INEC. We are also ready to go to court to compel the House to do the needful.
Strategies for 2015 general elections
I will not tell you that because you are encroaching into our organisational strategies. But right now, we are on the field and we have several committees working. At the end of the day, the PDP will come out better. As far as we are concerned, we are working towards winning 2015 elections in the state, knowing that what wins election for any political party is the cementation of the organisation of that party with the electoral population that will decide where power goes.
We are preparing and we are waiting for green light from our national headquarters in Abuja because on anything that has to do with election, we have to get directive from the national headquarters. The process of picking the candidates has to be specified. We must get the guidelines. So we are waiting and we are sourcing for credible people, people of proven integrity that will feature in the next elections for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate.
Challenges before Ondo PDP
The major challenge we are facing right now is funding. When you run a party like this, you need a lot of money; more so, as people are coming from different local governments expressing their intention to join the party.