The rift between Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, over the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Southwest, is set to end.
Ex-Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola has scaled up efforts to reconcile the duo before the zonal congress of the party.
The Nation gathered yesterday that Oyinlola has reached out to the two leaders and they have indicated willingness to attend a reconciliation meeting he is planning for today (Friday).
A section of the party across the six states in the zone is loyal to Makinde, while others are behind Fayose.
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Our reporter learnt that Oyinlola was determined to bring the two leaders to a roundtable where they will iron out issues causing the rift between them. The crisis has torn the party apart, as each faction has come up with a list of candidates for the zonal executive of the party.
The crisis started when Makinde was accused by Fayose of meddling in Ekiti PDP, which he considered as local. He said as the only PDP governor in the Southwest, Makinde does not have the right to meddle in internal crisis of the party in any state in the zone despite being the zonal leader.
But Makinde insisted that as the zonal leader, he is expected to ensure that crises within the party in the zone are resolved amicably, stressing that the health of the party was more important to him.
As the zonal congress drew near, the rift took a new turn when Fayose again accused the Oyo State governor of unilaterally zoning zonal executive positions to states and even hand-picking some candidates for the posts. He said the constitution of the party does not best such power in the zonal leader. He reminded Makinde that he had occupied the position before when he was also the only PDP governor in the Southwest, stressing that he did not take decisions unilaterally.
As things stand, Makinde is rooting for Taofeek Arapaja as the zonal chairman (National Vice Chairman), while the Fayose faction stuck to Eddy Olafeso. The election is scheduled for tomorrow, although Fayose’s faction has approached the court to shift it in the Southwest.
