Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday in Abeokuta, warned a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Sina Kawonise, on the need to stop twisting "indubitable facts of recent history."
The PDP said this against the backdrop of recent media statements by Kawonise alleging that his boss and former governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, turned around the fortunes of the party in the state when he joined it in 2001.
Ogun PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Waliu Oladipupo, in a statement made available to journalists, accused Daniel of biting the fingers that fed him after gaining a foothold in the party and in the state.
Oladipupo said, "The fact is that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the proverbial god, who helped the likes of Daniel to crack their kernel; even though when he came, he personalised everything to the detriment of the party by promoting the OGD Forum and OGD Political Family, among others.
"No sooner had he found his footing than he began his war of attrition against the likes of Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye and ex-President Obasanjo – the very people who brought him to the PDP."
The party, however, said the people of the state had now become wiser than they were "in those better forgotten years of unrest, violence and other inglorious acts."
The party added, "We knew how much they were worth when they came into office and when they left. And this has led to their arraignment in court.
"Now, without waiting to clear their names of the corruption allegations against them, they are seeking to prop up one of their own, who sits over an establishment that may be forfeited to the government, to go and cover up their tracks."
The PDP in the state, therefore, warned Kawonise to desist from dropping names, stressing that it was not true that notable politicians, like senators Ayo Otegbola, Martins-Kuye, Chief Sule Onabiyi, Yemi Akiwonmi, Tunde Alabi and Chief Niyi Adegbenro had defected to the emerging Labour Party.
"They are still very strong members of the PDP", the statement added.
The party insisted that it remained stronger than it used to be, adding that it had even been waxing stronger.
"It is now a regular thing for people to defect from the Action Congress of Nigeria and Labour Party to the PDP. And this is because the party has been returned to the people; not a clique who lord their wishes over the majority," it said.
The party described Daniel as "an inconsistent politician without any clout, who is always looking for a platform to feather his own nest."
It added, "From the Alliance for Democracy, he moved to the PDP; from the PDP to the Peoples Party of Nigeria, and now, from the PPN to the LP."
The party, therefore, urged its members not to be discouraged by Daniel's reported defection to the LP, saying, If he did not succeed with his PPN experiment while he was in power, he can do little or nothing now that he is out of power, especially with the N58bn corruption allegation that he is fighting. Our people can no longer afford to entrust their future into the hands of the plunderers of our commonwealth. They are wiser now. They cannot be deceived again."
The Punch