OGUN PDP FACTIONS REJECT JONATHAN'S PEACE DEAL

Political gladiators in Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have reportedly rejected the peace deal brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan. The PDP in the state has been polarized along two factions with one of them led by Joju Fadairo allegedly loyal to Governor Gbenga Daniel, while the one led by Dayo Soremi is said to be loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The two groups have been locked in a supremacy battle, which has seen them before various courts in Abeokuta, Lagos and Abuja.

The face-off saw the two factions producing parallel candidates for the April election. Apparently disturbed by the likely repercussion of such development, President Jonathan sent his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe, former chairman of the BoT of PDP, Tony Anenih and the secretary of the party, Ahmed Baraje, to pacify Governor Daniel with a promise to find a lasting solution to the crisis.

A source privy to the deal however told Sunday Sun that the proposal of the President was rejected by one of the factions, thereby stalling the planned peace deal. According to him, the President had proposed that the Obasanjo faction take two of the three senatorial tickets while the last senatorial ticket was given to Daniel.

Obasanjo was also to have six of the nine House of Representative seats in the state, while Daniel's faction is to produce the governorship candidate of the party.

The President, according to a source, also proposed that 75 per cent of members of the State House of Assembly be given to the Daniel group while Obasanjo's group is to take 25 per cent. The reason, according to the source, was to prevent a reoccurrence of the situation that polarized the state assembly into the G-15 and G-9.

According to him, 'the committee decided to allow the group that produce the governor have a larger share of members of the state legislature to prevent a repeat of the problem suffered by the state assembly.'

But the source noted that Obasanjo allegedly 'tore the agreement papers when it was presented to him for ratification.' The former president was quoted as saying that he will only grant Daniel his Ogun East senatorial seat while he as the chairman of the party's Board of Trustees should determine who picks what. 'As is it, we cannot do much but to wait on the courts to determine who picks what. But I can tell you I am disappointed because I feel a political solution would have been better than a judicial solution.'