Olubolade's governorship ambition is destroying Ekiti PDP - Group warns

By Ebenezer Olaleye

A pressure group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekiti State, The Ekiti Patriots (TEP) has warned that unless the Minister for Police Affairs, Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade is called to order over his gubernatorial ambition, there will be no peace in the party, and that the party risks total collapse.

TEP, which appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan and other well meaning leaders of the PDP to call Olubolade to order, said it was his desperation to win the party governorship ticket that made him teamed up with people, who were not members of the PDP yet.

In a release issued today and signed by the group Coordinator, Chief Adewale Ogundele and Director of Publicity, Comrade Kola Akeju, TEP said "by directives from both the State Working Committee (SWC) and Zonal Executive Council of the party, former governor, Ayodele Fayose is not a member of the PDP yet.

"The immediate past National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo even caused an advert to be placed in the Nigerian Tribune where it was stated clearly that Fayose was yet to be admitted into the party.

"However, because of his desperate bid to hijack the party to pave way for his emergence as the governorship candidate in 2014, Olubolade flouted the party's directives by allowing Fayose and other members of the Labour Party (LP) to take part in the botched congress of March 18, 2012, thus rendering the congress invalid.

"This same inordinate ambition made Olubolade to flout the zoning guidelines of the party and also supported members of LP that are yet to be admitted into the PDP as members of his own SWC of the party in Ekiti State.

"Also, it is worrisome that the same Olubolade, who during the Ekiti Central Constituency II House of Representatives by-election was at his Ipoti-Ekiti country home, eating pounded yam with Governor Kayode Fayemi could muster so much resources and security presence during the party congress.

"For instance, if half of the millions of naira Olubolade deployed into buying delegates and falsifying delegate lists during the party congress and the security personnel that invaded the congress venue were made available during the by-election, the story would have been different.

"But the minister in his selfish agenda to remain the only one in high political office in the party choose to be eating pounded yam with Fayemi when votes were being manipulated by Action Congress of Nigeria

(ACN) people and even votes belonging to the PDP were being destroyed by the party (ACN) thugs.

"It has therefore become necessary that Mr President and other leaders of our party, especially in the Southwest appeal to Olubolade to face his job as the minister of police affairs, and allow the PDP in Ekiti State to grow by having all aspirants work together to build the party."