Oyo 2015: PDP group rejects call to restrict governorship slot to Ibadan

A political pressure group in Oyo State, the Ibadan Peoples Democratic Party Forum, on Monday rejected the call to restrict the party’s governorship candidature to Ibadan Zone alone.
The forum said in a communique issued after its meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that such a move would be counterproductive given the antecedents of the past.
It said: “We have passed through this stage before and this kind of conspiracy had cost us the mandate to rule the state in 2011.
“Similar alliances anywhere only result to nullity, fear, failure and unpopular choices. We therefore enjoin the aspirants to have a rethink in the interest of our party.
“We must all embrace a level playing ground to pave way for a popular and acceptable candidate that will guarantee victory for the party in Oyo State come 2015.”
A group of prospective aspirants from Ibadan Zone had on Sunday demanded for a candidate from the area to fly the party’s flag in 2015.
The communique, however, said: “We are surprised that those who are supposed to be promoters of equality of all Nigerians could be promoting such division.
“How could they gather somewhere and arrogate to themselves the privilege to determine which part of the state should produce the governor of Oyo State without recourse to other stakeholders?”
It said that the demand to restrict candidature to a particular area negated the party’s constitution as well as the 1999 Constitution, which allows Nigerians to aspire for elective positions irrespective of ethnic, religious and sectional background.
The communique called on residents of the state to disregard sectional sentiments in the choice of candidates, saying this could generate bad blood.
It added that the party’s experience in the governorship poll in Ekiti State indicated the party was popular in the South West
Also speaking, a PDP leader in Ogbomoso, Chief Bayo Oyewusi, condemned the resolve to strict candidature to an area, saying it was a selfish agenda.
Oyewusi said the party would support the most popular and acceptable candidate who emerged in the primary election.
Oyewusi said: “This is a fall out of what happened during the visit of Mr. Ayodele Fayose, the governor-elect of Ekiti State.
“Who is afraid of who and who is planning to emerge through the back door without testing his popularity?”
According to Oyewusi, there are five zones in the state, with Ibadan being only one of them.