Being the speech delivered by Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo the Kwara State Chairman of PDP at the State Executive meeting of 3rd June 2016, at the State Party Secretariat , Ilorin.

Courtesies

I am full of joy to address you today as the elected Chairman of our party in Kwara State. We told everybody that could listen that by s.47(1) of the PDP 2012 amended constitution, we were to be in office until 2018. That was as a result of the full congress we conducted in 2014 April which by the provision of the constitution cited above should give us a tenure of four years. Some members of the party even if they are few, they are vocal, and they wanted us out of office at all costs. We were for the sanctity of the constitution; they had no respect for the law. They had their way not because we were not right but at a stage we decided then to forego our rights to the constitutionally guaranteed tenure and opted for the election. The fact that we are here today is a testimony to the fact that God is by the side of the just. They said they wanted election we gave them election and we emerged victorious. I do not expect any further dissension or complaints from anybody, but rather to let us come together and build the party and make it to be a party that can win elections in Kwara State.

This party under my leadership have done much to put together the tattered political party given to me on t6th of April 2014. We met an empty treasury and secretariat. Virtually all we have today in the secretariat are not things inherited but things I and my colleagues have brought into the party through the wisdom of God and co-operation of the party members. It is very sad that people may want to push out of the party leadership without acknowledging our achievements and without offering to the party members alternative programs which could be better than ours. From the behaviour of some people to disgrace us out of office, an impression is created that some people have an agenda that is different from taking over power from the present administration.

The fact that an election took place is now a fact of history. One would not believe there could be aggrieved persons where those that contended with us voluntarily withdrew from the contest. This claim that some five people attended a parallel congress after Prince S A Fagbemi voluntarily withdrew from the contest at about 730pm on the day of the congress can never be true and certainly not accepted in any decent society. Ambition must have its limit if it is not to destroy the system. After any form of contest that produces a victor there is the need for reconciliation. That has started on two fronts. The party reconciliation committee put in place before the congress is being urged to work for the reconciliation of forces within the party. Secondly, I have decided to visit some leaders that may be aggrieved to urge them to let us put the elections behind us and embrace peace in the interest of the party. We shall work for peace until it is practically impossible to bring the aggrieved to build a platform of unity in the party. For those that have proper perspective of our REAL NEEDS in Kwara State and understand the politics of the moment, the era of adamancy is gone.

Kwara political situation is too serious to be trivialised by sentimental interests. If other states chapters of our party in Nigeria can afford conflicts and crisis; a state like ours that is in bondage both politically and economically cannot afford to dance when we should work. Whatever is happening at the centre is for now not our immediate concern as things will soon sort out themselves. Kwara PDP must be made to work so as to set the state free soonest.

During our first two years of operation as the executive committee of this party, some people believe our performances were below expectations. At the state level it is difficult for some people to forgive me for my open support for one of the gubernatorial candidates. Some hate me because I defer to Alhaja Bola Sagaya who we should all know was the major financial back bone of the party in the first year of our operation. There are some that can still not believe that a man like me can come into a party and within one month become the Chairman of the party. Some believe am too independent minded and that I have no respect for elders. Many members of the state executive committee are believed to be ineffective at their various duty posts and their various constituencies. The Local Government Chairmen are deeply loathed on account of their low level achievements in their local government areas and especially in the area of transparent accountability to their people. We should all agree that we have failed to do our best and decide to put in place administrations at the various levels of the party that will elicit confidence of the people and make our party to commence winning elections henceforth. Where we have been heavily criticized and we need to change our ways, we should not hesitate to do so. Our elections have created the opportunity for us to be the executive that will free Kwara State from years of slavery and domination. We must not miss this historical opportunity.

Let nobody or group of persons continue to deceive themselves that the congress in Kwara State is inconclusive. Nobody should also be deceived that a Caretaker committee can be inaugurated for Kwara State chapter of our party. We have in our possession all the evidences of conclusive elections from the ward to state levels and the results are appropriately submitted to the party national secretariat. What is in issue as far as Kwara State is concerned is the inconclusive National Convention of our party. Those that stopped parading themselves as the parallel executive of the party but now advocate for caretaker regime in Kwara State are dreamers. The next party election in Kwara State will be in 2020. They should start early to prepare for that. There is no provision for Caretaker administration in the assignments the National Convention gave to the Caretaker of the party in Port Harcourt. We should therefore not be detracted by the noisy category, but rather generate programs or agendas that will galvanise the party to the next level. Those that fail to follow the laudable programs of the party that will soon be rolled out, do so at their own political peril.

Oke Ero bye election was an abysmal failure for our party. But from it, we learnt some useful lessons that can help us for future elections. From the party purse or from the mobilized money from individuals; we spent about one million, three hundred thousand (N1.3) naira on that election. The money to me was for mobilization, gifts to traditional rulers and chiefs, party members, agents and security. The total money we spent may not be up to what our opponent spent on each of the eleven wards of Oke Ero local government area. Yet our opponent is in government and has in their possession all the paraphernalia of office. One of such paraphernalia of office which was effectively deployed against us is the misuse of the traditional rulers for our opponent’s political advantage. We really need to tackle the menace of the inappropriate use of the traditional institution for political purpose henceforth in Kwara State. But we should not be discouraged by the outcome of the election as we should continue to move on, until victory is given to us by almighty God.

Let me end this address by telling you the major headache of our party in particular but by extension all political parties in Nigeria in general. We are too disconnected from the voters. Our approach to politics and politicking is too casual. Political parties in Nigeria in between elections are dormant and docile. After elections, our leaders most often vacate the environment while even those of us at home do not even hold party meetings let alone talk to voters about issues that affect the lives of the people that can sway them to vote for us in any subsequent elections. Party members do not identify themselves as party volunteer workers; instead they see their membership of the party as an advantage to make money even if it is stipend for their immediate needs. Politics that is hinged on belief and principle is evangelism in another dimension. We need to do the work of conversion of voters to our vision so that they can run away with it. Not until this is done, voters will not see the difference between us and our common oppressors. If the only time we maintain contact with voters is some days to the elections, no message no matter how credible, will be of effect to the voters as at then. At that time the language relevant to the voters is money and any amount is good enough. Just because we fail to capture the voters with appropriate message and vision, traditional rulers do make appear significant their staff of office which could not put food on the table of any community members. I promise that there will be put in place appropriate mobilization mechanism and strategies that will henceforth speak to the situation of the voters of Kwara State.

As we are into this second phase of our administration, I urge you to brace up and let us work very hard to change the change.

Thank you all