Lagos PDP’s LG Secretaries meet Bode George, call for end to crisis ahead elections

By KEMI KASUMU

The Forum of LGA Secretaries of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, as a follow to an earlier press release made after his maiden peace and reconciliation meeting recently, has made its second release bothering on reaching out to leadership of the party starting with whom it called “the living legend and only man that stands out among all the leaders in the face of opposition and who still holds the party together in soul and body in Lagos State and who is no other person that Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George.”

In a press briefing by Chairman of the Forum, Comrade Daniel Alao, on Wednesday November 19, 2024, the secretaries were said to have paid the visit to Chief Bode George on Tuesday November 19 during which they called on him to lift the party in Lagos State out of its quagmire and hand it to success with effect from all elections ahead.

According to Comrade Alao, “Tuesday November 19, 2024 my colleagues, other Peoples Democratic Party (PDPD) Local Government Secretaries in Lagos State, made a visit to the Atona of Oodua, the living legend and our existing PDP BOT in Lagos and the only man that stands out among all the leaders in Lagos in the face of opposition and who still holds the party together in soul and body in Lagos is no other person than Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George.

“We went to meet him with five-point agenda. The first was to appreciate him for his relentless work. The second being to intimate with what is happening in our party, the injustice that has given birth to impunity and indiscipline from the national level to the state and up to the ward level. However, we did not only mention that, we also appealled to him to use his political weight and political will to talk to the power that be in the party in Lagos State, that everyone should sheath his sword just like what we appealled for in our first publication.

“Then, thirdly, we mentioned the other item to talk about the crisis in the party. We discovered that some people deliberately made the crisis last longer than expected because they are benefiting from it. And we also appealled to him to make sure he use his good offices, his power to address the issues. We also talked about the Local Government elections forthcoming and urged him to use his good offices and power to address all the leaders in Lagos State that none of them should fold his or her hand and that if we want to get it right in 2027, we need to start now by engagement doing what is right and making sure all hands are on deck concerning the council election.

“And we cited instances the first of which was Iwaya where we have a councilor and other places like Oshodi-Isolo or Alimosho, Badagry that we still have a councilor there under PDP just to reiterate that it is possible that we can still claim seats in Lagos State if we all act by doing what is right in making sure that all hands are on deck, that he should inform all political actors in the state to come out, rather than leaving it to the grassroots to face it alone as usual. And to stand against police intimidation.

“That they should be leaders enough to engage party agents who at all elections will be patriotic and self-content enough to reject advances of any kind from the ruling party to compromise their duty as PDP agents across polling units and collations centres and stand against police intimidation as no police man or officer or commissioner or IGP would want to be seen or heard doing well using the guns meant to protect Nigerian citizens in or outside an election to kill same people.

“We then appealed for peace, which will foster unity and prosperity and then, the last one on the agenda, was what we did by wishing him a happy birthday as his birthday is tomorrow Thursday November 21, 2024.”

Responding, according to the Lagos PDP’s LG Secretaries Forum Chairman, Chief Bode George first and foremost took them through historical journey from the amalgamation of Northern Protectorate, Southern Protectorate and Colony of Lagos as one country known till today as Nigeria, up to the time of the likes of founding fathers of political parties and he mentioned Papa Obafemi Awolowo, he mentioned Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, grieves, the differences and then up to his own era when he was working with General Sani Abacha, educated them on many of the things they knew not, before, and shed light to them.

Narrating the Bode George’s response further, Alao said he gave them assurance about his readiness to wade into the issues and make leaders, elders and stakeholders of the party work assiduously well to deliver their respective wards in coming elections and that he had started doing that as he just addressed those leaders before their coming.

According to the Forum Chairman, Chief George added that at his age he has nothing to be afraid of and that he will be hosting no less than 52 media houses tomorrow (Thursday November 21, 2024) to talk to the power that be and also address the political crisis in PDP and also call out some names that he knows as part of the founding fathers and tell them they should not keep quiet.

Alao said, “He promised us that he would reach out as he is getting older and that he is only enjoying God’s grace and that the only thing he needs to do is to give back to the society and give back to the people by making sure that his voice is out there on behalf of the masses.”

Highlight of the meeting was the opportunity where the former Military Governor, Old Ondo State and Deputy Chairman South of the PDP did a recap of “a short video of his prophesy where he talked about some of the things we are seeing now widening tax net, the policy of the president, where the talked about making his daughter Iyalola General, making his son the Governor of Lagos State and all that, which we saw, heard and then said ‘Huum, prophesy coming to past’ based on some of the things we are seeing unveiling having been mentioned in that video.’

“He appreciated us for coming and said he would always be happy to reckon with us and that, as a military officer he doesn’t say things that he doesn’t mean, that he was actually happy that we came,” Alao said.