Members of the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Thursday, resolved to rebuild the party by bringing back former governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala into the state chapter of the party.
At the meeting in Ibadan, the state capital, the party equally decided that it would bring back state governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2015 elections, Seyi Makinde, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The meeting was convened by a former Deputy Chief Whip in the Senate, Hosea Agboola, while a former chairman of the party in the state, Yinka Taiwo; and a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Jelili Adeleke, were in attendance.
Agboola said the party would focus on building a party where the will of the people would be respected.
He added that members of the party had resolved to reconcile all aggrieved members.
Ladoja, Makinde and Alao-Akala were not at the meeting.
At the meeting, it was agreed that a standing committee should be set up to reconcile members at the state and council levels.
Agboola stated that the meeting was called as a result of what was agreed at a recently-concluded National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Abuja.
He said stakeholders at the meeting agreed that all warring factions should be brought back into the party.
The former federal lawmaker explained that leaders of the party were already discussing with Makinde, Ladoja, Alao-Akala and other members that dumped the party during the crisis that engulfed it two years ago.
Agboola also assured those in attendance at the meeting that members of the Ali Modu Sheriff group that defected to the Mega Party of Nigeria recently would soon come back to the party.
The Publicity Secretary of the SDP in the state, Akeem Azeez, confirmed that Makinde was in the forefront of the coalition of opposition parties in the state.
“Makinde is in the forefront of the coalition of opposition parties in the state and beyond forming an alliance to field a joint candidate for the governorship election in 2019. He has not defected to the PDP,” said Azeez.
