TOP: Mimiko (in blue dress) standing beside Ladoja (right) BELOW: Oyinlola (fourth left) standing with Ladoja (right) and other party leaders during after their meetings in Ibadan, on Monday, June 18, 2018
Former governors of Osun and Ondo states, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Dr Olusegun Mimiko, on Monday, held separate meetings with a former governor of Oyo State and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Rashidi Ladoja, in Ibadan.
Oyinlola, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who was the first to arrive at Ladoja’s residence, went straight into a closed-door meeting with his host for hours.
Although the detail of the meeting was not disclosed to newsmen, Tribune Online gathered from sources that Oyinlola wooed Ladoja and his loyalists to consider ADC as their political destination after leaving PDP.
One of the sources told Tribune Online that Oyinlola identified ADC’s national reach and network as part of the reasons Ladoja and his loyalists should join the party, adding that they believe Ladoja could “move mountains for ADC in Oyo State.”
Mimiko, who recently dumped the PDP for the Labour Party (LP), arrived Ladoja’s residence shortly after Oyinlola’s departure with a similar message to the PDP leader to consider the Labour Party.
The immediate past Ondo governor, it was gathered, said PDP had been taken over by taken over by those he called ‘proprietors’ who would not make things work for Ladoja and his loyalists.
He was said to have pinpointed two governors whom he said were dictating to the NWC, adding that it was whatever the two governors wanted that would always happen in the party.
Based on “stranglehold of the proprietors” on the PDP, he urged Ladoja to join forces with him to rebuild the Labour Party to be a force in South-West politics and beyond.
Responding to the entreaties, Ladoja was said to have told his guests that a steering committee to consider the party to move to on dumping the PDP had been set up.
He, however, said he and his loyalists would wait for the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to the PDP NWC to reverse itself on the altered list of state executive before taking the next step.
Pressed for comment after the meetings, Oyinlola and Mimiko told newsmen that they were in Ibadan on private visits, with the former Osun governor saying, “I came to visit my brother.”
It will be recalled that the fragile peace in Oyo PDP gave way two weeks ago when the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party published what it called a harmonised list of state executive which saw the removal of four names from the list.
The development, which drew condemnation from the leaders of the party, led to the convocation of an emergency meeting at the Bodija residence of Ladoja where they rose with a seven days ultimatum to the PDP NWC to reverse itself.
The ultimatum expires tomorrow (Wednesday), the same day the NWC meeting is scheduled to hold.
With Ladoja in the meetings were three of the PDP governorship aspirants, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, Chief Sharafadeen Alli, Dr Nureni Adeniran; Mr Bayo Lawal; Mr Nureni Adeniran; Alhaji Bashir Lawal; Chief Yemi Aderibigbe; and Mr Bimbo Adepoju.
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