The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as the leader of the party in the South-West.
The Lagos State PDP stated this after a meeting with the governor on Saturday at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
The battle for who is the party’s leader in the zone had set Makinde and former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose and their supporters against each other in recent times, creating a rift in the party at that level.
Apparently, rejecting Fayose, the Lagos PDP delegation led by its Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Waliu Hassan, pledged members’ loyalty to Makinde as a force to reckon with in the South-West PDP.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, a former House of Representatives member, Rita Orji, called of Governor Makinde not to relent in his leadership roles while also promising that the Lagos State chapter of the PDP would ensure amicable resolution of conflicts within its fold.
Orji said: “The purpose of today’s meeting is to thank Governor Makinde for standing by the party and to pledge total loyalty to his leadership of the South-West. No more, no less.
“We can tell you that the governor does not want anything from us. He, as the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State, needs nothing from the party. Rather, we are the ones who came all the way from Lagos to plead with him to keep leading the party.
“We resolved to, irrespective of any rancour, move the party forward and we will ensure that the party takes its better seat in 2023. We did not come here to discuss who takes anything for zonal congress. The congress will soon come up and for all we care, we have come to restate our commitment to our own governor.
“It is the full structure of Lagos that is represented here. Out of 19, we have the representation of 12 local government chairmen. We also have 17 complete non-working committee members of state exco here present. We have the deputy chairman of the party here. We have the secretary, legal adviser and the entire party structure of Lagos State here. This is a complete House of PDP, Lagos State.”