A former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, may have concluded arrangements to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Labour Party following a meeting with the National Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu in Abuja on Thursday to firm up the bid.
The meeting, which held at the national headquarters of LP in Garki area of the federal capital city, was said to have centred on the modalities that would be used to accommodate Daniel and his supporters in the party. The former governor, who was accompanied to the meeting by some of his aides, was received at the party’s secretariat by the LP chairman.
Nwanyanwu confirmed the meeting when contacted but declined to give details of what transpired.
Daniel has of recent been linked to three parties in Ogun state. While he was governor for eight years under the platform of PDP, he was equally the promoter of the Peoples Party of Nigeria, PPN through which one of his associates, Gboyega Isiaka contested the 2011 governorship election in Ogun State.
The election was won by the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Isiaka, who hails from Ogun West and still eyeing the next election, has reportedly joined the LP in the state while another of Daniel’s associates, Sina Kawonishe has also been mobilizing for the 2015 governorship election on the platform of LP.
A source at the meeting with Nwanyanwu disclosed that Daniel did not mince words in his demand that the party cede its governorship ticket to him and his supporters since he would be moving in with his structures in PDP and PPN.
To make this possible, the former governor, who was said to have initiated the meeting, also demanded that the present state executive committee of the party be dissolved by LP’s national leadership so that his own supporters can find a strong footing.
“The governor did not mince words in his demands and the chairman was obviously not comfortable having those two major requests as pre-conditions to join the party”, the source added.
It was reliably gathered that he would finally dump PDP for LP next month during “a mother of all rallies in Ijebu-Ode’’. While also confirming the meeting, a formal Commissioner for Information in the administration of ex-Governor Daniel, Mr. Sina Kawonise said: “His Excellency, Otunba Gbenga Daniel indeed visited the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr. Dan Iwunayanwu in Abuja.
“It was a reciprocal visit to a long time friend and associates. In this period when our leaders are looking for consensus around crucial national and local issues, meeting between such political leaders is routine’’.
Culled from The Sun
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