*Factional party chairman annoyed as Makarfi shuns reception
Michael Adesanya/Abeokuta
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Tuesday, told the National Caretaker Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, that he would never return to the party or partisan politics.
Obasanjo spoke when the PDP leadership led by Makarfi visited him at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Caretaker chairman of the PDP in the South West, Chief Eddy Olafeso, ex-minister of steel and mines, Sharafa Tunji-Ishola and others accompanied Makarfi on the visit.
Obasanjo who told Markarfi not to speak with newsmen after the almost one-hour closed door meeting, spoke on his behalf in both pidgin and English.
He described Markarfi as his colleague and friend, adding that the country’s democracy needs a strong party in government and in the opposition to avoid impunity.
He said, “This na two colleagues meeting, two colleagues before before. When I was the President, Chairman was a Governor, two colleagues before before.
“I have told the Chairman that I was in PDP before but not now. God forbid, she when a dog vomits, it will go back to eat its vomit? No. I have said no partisan politics for me againbut Nigeria is my passion until death do us part and anything that concerns Nigeria; the good of Nigeria, you’ll see my involvement.
“So, the Chairman has come to greet me and ‘I greet am’, and now that we’ve greeted ourselves, Chairman will be going, you gentlemen and ladies of the press, you can now go, leave the Chairman alone.”
Asked his message for the PDP, Obasanjo replied, “I have said that publicly before and I will say it again, for our democracy to thrive and continue to be strong, we need strong party in government and strong party in the opposition. It has to be that way, otherwise the party in government will get away with impunity and that is not good for democracy.”
Meanwhile, the factional chairman of the party in Ogun, Adebayo Dayo expressed surprise that despite preparations to welcome Makarfi to its secretariat, the latter shunned them.
Dayo explained that, “only yesterday night, we heard that our national Caretaker Chairman was coming to the state today and we quickly sent a message across the 20 local governments telling them to join us in welcoming the great leader to the state. We also learnt that he will be visiting Baba’s house which is a stone throw to our office here.We assembled party members to welcome the national leader and to tell him our grievances but unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to see him.
“I will never make any attempt to see Makarfi again because he did not recognize us and I will not recognize him as well.
“Politics is a game of numbers. When you see hundreds of members of you party standing somewhere and you neglected them, then why should I be looking for such a person?”
On Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Dayo stated, “I am a founding member of PDP and I have never left the party even till now. OGD is not my leader in Ogun state, when he decamped from AD to PDP in 2002, I was a state officer in PDP and I was one of the people who received him into the party in Sagamu.
“He was our leader when he was the governor of the state but shortly after he finished he formed his own party after which he left for Labour Party. In 2014, he came back and wanted to contest so, I went to Abuja to seek waiver for him to contest the senatorial election and even Ladi Adebutu. So, how will such people become my leaders overnight?
“Daniel has lost his seniority in PDP, he lost it when he went to PPN and labour party. Our constitution says that when you decamp from our party to another, you will lose your seniority; even after you have been given waiver, you will have to start afresh.”