Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is effectively dead, saying the party has lost direction and leadership.
Fayose, a chieftain of the PDP, lamented that many of the party’s supposed leaders have abandoned their responsibilities, choosing instead to defect from one political party to another for selfish interests.
Speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti shortly after attending the thanksgiving service to mark Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s third anniversary in office, Fayose said the PDP was “in comatose” and being run by “undertakers.”
According to him, the party’s acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, will “go the way of former Chairman Iyorchia Ayu,” insisting that his suspension marked the end of his tenure.
“You will recall that this is the same way Ayu’s crisis started, and Damagum will go the way of Ayu. He will not return to that office,” Fayose said. “He only represented an interregnum, but manipulated the process to become chairman and caused so much confusion. The party could not even hold NEC meetings for a long time, that shows incompetence.”
The former governor expressed support for the newly appointed factional chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman, saying due process had been followed in suspending Damagum and expressing confidence that the new leadership would be affirmed by the court.
“We want to appeal to the new acting chairman, assuring him of the cooperation of all party members,” he said. “He must reposition the party, make necessary corrections in state chapters, and prepare for the national convention after all state congresses have been conducted as directed by the court.”
Fayose also criticized the lack of internal democracy within the PDP, especially in the South-West, accusing some governors of attempting to control state chapters instead of allowing congresses to hold.
He, however, commended Governor Oyebanji of Ekiti State for his leadership style, saying his support for him was based on performance and not political affiliation.
“I am not a member of the APC and will never be,” Fayose said. “But I will not destroy what is good simply because I am in opposition. Oyebanji is the man the people of Ekiti want till 2030, and I support him.”
On the state of the PDP, the former governor was blunt: “There is no hope of the PDP coming back for now. Even the captains of our boat are jumping ship. The party has reasonably gone into extinction. The current National Working Committee are undertakers, they have come to bury the party.”
He added that some PDP governors were already on their way out of the party, naming the governors of Taraba and Bayelsa as examples.
“Mentioning names no longer matters because even our 2023 presidential and vice-presidential candidates have left the party. So you are left with the carcass of a dead body asking how it died, to what end?” Fayose asked.
While expressing a glimmer of hope, he said only a committed leader like Abdulrahman could possibly revive the PDP.
“In the instance case, PDP is in comatose, without hope of survival,” he said. “But you never can tell, you may find a doctor in Abdulrahman who is willing to turn the table around for the party.”
