PDP State Congress: Tella emerges winner, vows to rejuvenate party

Omobolaji Adekunle

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has been embroiled in a crisis following allegations of a parallel congress.

Chairman of the 7-man PDP Committee, Alhaji Kabiru Baffa Jauro who declared Abayomi Tella as winner, disclosed this while speaking with Journalists in Abeokuta Ogun state.

The Congress which was dully supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) team, led by Mrs. Uzo Amala Otegbulu; the commission’s Head of Department (HOD) for Election Party Monitoring (EPM) and other observers which included the police, the DSS and that of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Jauro urged members of the public to disregard report of alleged parallel congress by the aggrieved members of the state chapter of the PDP, stressing that such remains a “kangaroos congress” and an exercise in futility.

Jauro maintained that his committee met with all politicians in the state chapter of PDP after liaising with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the party where necessary information regarding the conduct of the Saturday’s Congress were rolled out for a hitch-free conduct of the exercise.

“We came in yesterday and went round with the chairman to see the arrangements because we normally supposed to have a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to see the arrangements and we put in our own input regarding what we want to ensure a hitch-free conduct of the State Congress.

“We thereafter, met with the INEC, the State Commissioner of Police (CP), Abiodun Alamutu; the Director of the State Security Service (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to present ourselves to them for proper security arrangements. We thereafter, called attention of all the politicians in the state through the Caretaker Chairman that we are here to conduct the party’s State Congress.

“So, if there is anything or any other State Congress going on somewhere else, they are on their own because they neither have a letter of authority, not the list of the delegates and if they have, let them show you.

“For us here, we have the ballot papers and list of all the statutory and non-statutory delegates; everything here with me. Very soon, you’ll see the actual delegates voting after we must have done the accreditation which is starting from the Ogun West Senatorial district where we are expecting five Local Governments.

“I am saying this before the INEC representatives that are here that if anybody says he is doing any other Congress aside from this one, it is a kangaroo exercise because nobody will take it serious. We have not told anyone not to come, we emphatically told them all that we have the authentic list of delegates. For me, I don’t know anybody because this is my second time of coming to Ogun State after 32 years ago.

“Please permit me to emphasize that right now, my job is to conduct the state’s party congress with my colleagues after which the result and detailed analysis of the report will be submitted to the national secretariat of our party, detailing the procedural processes.

“It is thereafter, left for the national secretariat to cross-check how we carried out the assignment given to us whether it is in tandem with the guidelines. If however, they are not satisfied with what we have done, it is left for them as they are the ines to speak on it. I don’t have any mandate to speak in that direction.”

Speaking with journalists after being declared winner, the new PDP State Chairman, Tella vowed that the state chapter of the party will be “rejuvenated and repositioned” for a successful contest in the forthcoming year 2027 elections in the state.

Tella specifically declared that the party under him will work towards restoring the party’s heritage as a ruling party which hitherto, boast of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the nation’s president.

He explained that the primary concern of his party was not that of opposition, but of maintaining a strong status of a ruling party, stressing that the process of returning to the seat of power must be realised at the next polls.

Emphasising that the party was ready “ever than before,” to mend all fences that would enable it move forward, Tella however, enjoined the aggrieved members to desist from further patronizing the meedia “on wrong information” and courtrooms, but join his committee towards building a stronger PDP in the state.

“This is the same PDP that raised the level of economic prosperity in Ogun State before the APC administration eroded all the gains our people achieved under PDP and consequently leading to the wanton poverty that is ravaging our land.

“However, it is disheartening to describe the party as a tree that bears no fruit anymore. Many of the People who had benefited from the Party’s previous electoral victories are currently slaving in the APC, we are using this opportunity to request them to return to the base and join us in having a PDP that will be difficult to beat in 2027 and beyond.”

Tella won the the congress with 2,216 defeating former Chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele who got 28 votes.

A total of 2, 549 delegates participated in the congress with 2,174 accredited votes and 50 invalid votes