A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Akinwumi, has disclosed that former governor of the state, Chief Segun Oni will rejoin PDP soon.
Akinwumi, who is a PDP state chairmanship aspirant, also urged the PDP national leadership to keep faith with the state chapter to bounce back to reckoning in the state.
Former commissioner for water resources in the state spoke in Ado-Ekiti while addressing journalists and party members on his intention to contest the PDP chairmanship position in the state.
He said efforts are on to reposition the party and address all issues responsible for its past failures in the political space of the state.
Speaking of the former governor’s return to PDP, he said, “Governor Oni does not want people to rubbish him as a man of unquestionable character.
He is only waiting for all the crisis in the party to end before making the move and we are on talking terms.
“I was the chairman of the contact and mobilisation for him when he contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the governorship in 2022 and we came second. We are repositioning and resolving all issues giving us a bad name in Ekiti PDP.”
On what he called anti-party activities of the former governor Ayo Fayose, the chairmanship hopeful said, “What is on ground now will clearly show where everyone stands in the party and real PDP owners are back and we will take what belongs to us.
“Fayose being both PDP and APC is part of politics. There is time for everything under heaven, but that will fizzle out in another four months from now.
“The nucleus and the majority of the party PDP members who were then in the repositioning group had then had moved to SDP before the last governorship poll due to intimidation of our members and you can see that SDP still managed to win house of assembly seats in the last general election in the state.”
The former commissioner said part of his mission is to win Ekiti governorship election for the party come 2026 as a prelude to the 2027 general elections.
“It is also to ensure internal party cohesion, discipline and inclusivity, to improve reward system to party members and leaders and to ensure smooth leadership succession in the party”.
Akinwumi said he would handover the party back to the original owners noting that the crisis within the party in the state is being fuelled by some greedy people who do not have the interest of the party at heart.
He said all past PDP governors, deputy governors, state and federal lawmakers had tried and did their best to develop the state.
Speaking on ambition, Akinwumi said, “Our party in Ekiti is in doldrum and there is an urgent need to draw us out. Here is the man who knows the way. If I look at the sum total of my exposure, political experience, residual knowledge and every other thing, it gives me sufficient latitude to say that I should be sent to do the work and I will do it well.”
