Former President Goodluck Jonathan has led chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders to convince Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor o
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has led chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders to convince Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State, to rescind his decision to leave the party. Daniel announced his exit from the PDP and from partisan politics on Saturday, saying he wanted take on new challenges, which include rejuvenating his charity-based organisation, the Gateway Front Foundation (GFF), and resuscitating the non-partisan Political Leadership Academy (POLA), which was established some years ago as a platform of political education to our citizens.
However, notable PDP leaders, including Jonathan have been calling him to have a rethink. It was gathered that Daniel informed Atiku Abubakar, whom he served as Director-General of his presidential campaign organisation, as well as Jonathan, before publicly announcing his decision. Atiku said it expressly that he couldn’t leave, while Jonathan encouraged him to reconsider and consult widely before taking a final position.
Also PDP stakeholders, particularly from the North, have been rejecting Daniel’s resignation from the party. Also Oyo State governor-elect Seyi Makinde, has equally reached out to him to convince him no to leave the party as his exit will further deplete a party serious struggling to hold some influence in the South-West.
“Fayose has been unable to hold the PDP in the South-West since leaving office as Governor of Ekiti State. Lagos PDP is boiling with issues. You can imagine a party chieftain, Segun Adewale, locking up the PDP secretariat and declaring himself the authentic Lagos PDP chairman in place of Adegbola Dominic, who was attending a meeting in Ibadan. There have also been complaints of the siphoning of campaign funds in Lagos. So, PDP is in crisis in Lagos. In Ogun, it is non-existent. The only place it exists is Oyo State. Fayose is fighting in Ekiti with Abiodun Olujimi. So, PDP leaders feel they still need Daniel’s leadership to hold the South-West together,” a source said.
PDP is yet to formally taken a stand on Daniel’s resignation; however, this could happen at an emergency meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) scheduled for Tuesday.
