Comrade Olushola Daniyan, a prominent member of the Kosofe Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, has explained party member grievances, the imminent repeat of the 2022 Ekiti election in Lagos and its solution, among other issues.
Excerpt
Rather than allowing the opposition to do their job, you have been using all your platforms to campaign against all PDP candidates across Kosofe. Don’t you think all this amounts to an anti-party?
Presently, it’s not an anti-party activity. But, we are aggrieved because the method of selecting a candidate is totally wrong. Let me cite an example: when you have a candidate you know personally as a party member who is not credible, doesn’t have political experience, he or she doesn’t have that at the grassroots level. How do you think we can move the mountains? It’s not possible.
What are the candidates’ you are referring to?
I am referring to the People’s Democratic Party candidate for the Kosofe Federal Constituency of Lagos, Mrs. Florence Adegbegba. Somebody that doesn’t have a manifesto, a biography, nothing, nothing.
For her to have emerged as the party standard bearer. Do you think the party provided a level playing field for all contestants?
She was handpicked, I will tell you. Let me begin at the beginning: ad hoc delegates voted for her, which is fine. In ward J, there was no Adhoc congress. Nothing like that, in wards E, G, and B, respectively. You can confirm this with the authentic ward chairman.
Selection and Harmonization of Delegates has been the style of PDP from time immemorial. Why are you now kicking against the party decision?
There was nothing like Harmonization. After granting this interview, you can confirm with one of the aspirants, Hon. Kunle Koya, what actually transpired. The Honourable Rahman Owokoniran simply felt he could use his power and strength to impose anyone on the Kosofe people. He does not look at the winning aspect; he does not even look ahead to winning; that’s what actually played out.
Both the APC and Third Force political parties separately canvassed for PVC registrations. Can you share what your party has done so far in the ongoing continuation?
I won’t lie to you. I am a grassroots politician. I visited different locations in Kosofe mainly. The APC has done wonderfully well in terms of continuous voter registration mobilization.My party, PDP, is just at a standstill waiting for mobilization funds. I won’t blame them because most of the candidates don’t have the financial strength, grassroots support, or grassroots strength to move from one place to another, or empower any of their members financially to do that.In terms of the third force, the Labour party, they have been doing that with full force. Some of the youth are campaigning even in church. They are campaigning seriously that they should go and register for PVC. The third force has been working on that, but give it to APC. They have been doing it in a very big way.
What do you think can be done to bring peace and unity to the party ahead of the 2023 general elections?
The best option is to pacify all the aggrieved members, not only aspirants. The members are highly aggrieved, but they were only doing, “majo lo, mo wo eyin e”. They were just acting as if they were with them, but they weren’t with them.
The party’s primary election was held over five weeks ago, precisely on May 22. Was there no reconciliation after the exercise?
As I speak, there’s no reconciliation presently in Kosofe. If anybody is telling you there’s reconciliation in Kosofe, there’s no reconciliation at all. The one that happened while I was in Abuja recently. It was the one that Okoniran called Koya to inquire about his grievances.
I am only trying to tell them to do the needful or else what they are doing now is just a media reconciliation and not real reconciliation. After they encouraged Koya to obtain a nomination and expression of interest form, running into several million ripe him, they now brought a lady and imposed her. Since they have a preferred choice, why do they allow him to waste his money? Do they provide any financial assistance or refund to Koya for the 6.5 million naira he obtained? How do you expect us to work together? They’re now telling us to go and work for the unity of the party. The unity of the party is my foot.
Don’t you think if everything continues this way, the recent Ekiti state Governorship election scenario may play out again, whereby the party came in a distant third position?
It’s not only Ekiti alone. There’s going to be a repeat of what happened in Zamfara and Ekiti, respectively.