Former aide to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe has said that chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the South West will dump the party if the next chairman doesn’t come from the region.
Okupe made the disclosure on Monday, April 25, 2016, while speaking to Premium Times.
“We took a firm position which was that we will dump the party en masse if we get robbed again at this year’s convention,” Okupe said.
“Governor Udom is a young gentleman whom I believe still has a long future in Nigerian politics ahead of him. It will be unfortunate if he allowed himself to be used to relegate Yoruba people within the affairs of the party once again.
“The PDP has done a lot of wrongs to the Yoruba people and our position now is that they should start making amends by allowing us to present the next chairman.
“As you can see from the rally that was held by PDP yesterday in Jigawa State, it’s very clear that the presidential slot is going to the north, so I don’t think the chairmanship should go back to the same north unless they’re determined to carry out another robbery and betrayal against the southwest.
“Nigerian history is replete with several instances in which the Yoruba people led the struggle for the actualisation of the minority agenda in the country, we fought for the people of south-south and the minorities in the north to have a say about the process of governance in this country, so it will be an utmost betrayal if Udom failed to let the chairmanship position come to the south-west as should be,” he added.
Okupe had earlier criticized the emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the party’s chairman.
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