Cracks In Lagos PDP Throw Up Greenhorn

Simon Ateba

The crisis rocking the Lagos chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has worsened, and the party may be considering dumping the two main gubernatorial contenders, an aspirant claimed on Thursday.

The revelations about the cracks within the Lagos PDP come only days after one of the aspirants, a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, described another strong contender, Jimi Agbaje as a mole of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Although Agbaje furiously rejected the allegations and claimed that his track record speaks for him, 34-year old Barrister Oluyinka Oyeniji, another PDP governorship aspirant from Alimosho, said both Agbaje and Obanikoro stand no chance as they have left party members confused.

Oyeniji claimed PDP in Lagos has decided to dump both Agbaje and Obanikoro and is now considering a younger person.

“Party members know that there’s a deadlock between Agbaje and Obanikoro right now,” Oyeniji said.

“Obanikoro, having been a party member for long and having occupied different political offices, and Agbaje, having been a member of different political platforms, but only recently decamped  to the PDP,  have left party members confused,”  he said.

He said Lagos PDP stalwarts have decided to present a greenhorn, preferably a young person during next year’s governorship election to slug it out with the APC.

He claimed that the party and the youths have decided to back him.

“All other aspirants are qualified. Obanikoro and Agbaje are qualified. They are even over qualified but I am the only preferred candidate backed by the youths,” he claimed.

He added: “I represent Alimosho, the biggest local government in Lagos with the largest electorate, but unfortunately the least developed. We have never produced a governor and our time has come.”

He said PDP in Lagos wants to “make history by providing a platform for the youths to be involved in governance.”

He rejected an insinuation that PDP was too unpopular in Lagos to defeat the ruling APC, saying that the next election will prove many wrong.

Oyeniji claimed that the tradition of presenting the same old candidates has come to an end.

“We have a tradition of recycling leaders and there’s no better time than now for the youths to take over governance,” he said.

“It is time for the youths, a breed without greed, to be saddled with the responsibility of governance,” Oyeniji added.

Asked how he would defeat Obanikoro and Agbaje who are more established than him and have stronger financial muscles, he said the backing of the party was enough for him.