Breaking: Influential Ex-Deputy Governor Dumps Crisis-Ridden PDP
- Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru resigns from PDP amidst the ongoing leadership crisis in the party
- Oluwateru attributes PDP's turmoil to a lack of cohesion and direction, aggravated by Nyesom Wike's actions
- Political analyst urges PDP to follow President Bola Tinubu's advice to restore internal order and functionality
Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru, the former deputy governor of Ondo state, has officially dumped the crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Oluwateru, who was the deputy governor under the administration of late Olusegun Agagu, announced his resignation from the party during the celebration of his 79th birthday party, which was organised by the Asiwaju Mandate Group in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday, January 15.
Source: Twitter
Why Oluwateru resigned from the PDP
According to The Nation, the former Nigerian Ambassador to Uganda explained that his decision to dump the PDP was a result of the "lingering leadership crisis", which has continued to rock the party at the national and state levels. He described the internal crisis of the PDP as the absence of cohesion, direction and foresight in the leading opposition party.
Oluwateru served as the deputy governor of the state from 2003 to 2007. He had served as a former member of the PDP Board of Trustees. He specifically claimed that the internal crisis of the PDP was worsened by Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Recall that in November, the PDP, with the support of Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed of Oyo and Bauchi, held a national convention of the party in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, which led to the emergence of the NWC.
Why crisis marred PDP national convention
The national convention was marred by a series of conflicting court rulings. Some of them are from the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stopped the party from going ahead with the convention. On the contrary, the PDP was cleared to go ahead with the convention by the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan and directed the electoral body to monitor the process.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leading another group that opposed the convention, later formed a parallel NWC, Board of Trustees (BOT) and National Executive Committee (NEC).
Speaking on the PDP crisis, Omotayo Yusuf, a political analyst, in an interview with Legit.ng, urged the party to heed the advice of President Bola Tinubu earlier this year. He said:
"I do go back to the words of the president, earlier this year, in his address to the national assembly during his two years in office, when he told the PDP that you need to put your house in order, and I will not do that for you."
Source: Twitter
Former senator dumps PDP
Legit.ng earlier reported that the PDP has faced another major loss following the exit of former senator and diplomat, Abdallah Wali, from the party.
Wali's resignation was contained in a letter addressed to the chairman of the PDP in Sanyinna ward, Tambuwal LGA of Sokoto State.
The former senator resigned from the PDP amid the leadership struggle in the party involving Nyesom Wike and Seyi Makinde.
Source: Legit.ng
