Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, says the Peoples Democratic Party remains strong and prepared to surprise its critics ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Makinde stated this at the Southwest PDP Stakeholders’ Meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, barely 24 hours after his meeting with President Bola Tinubu, in Abuja.
He dismissed claims that the party is dead, assuring members that the PDP is “well and alive.”
The Southwest PDP stakeholders’ meeting attracted party leaders and political office holders across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti States.
The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Debo Ogundoyin; PDP House of Representatives members from Oyo State; former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; National Secretary of PDP, Taofeek Arapaja; Chairman of PDP in the Southwest, Kamorudeen Ajisafe; former governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, among others.
The PDP meeting also received two groups of defectors from the All Progressives Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
Makinde while speaking at the gathering said the turnout of party members as well as the defectors had proved those who declared the PDP a dead political party wrong.
“I can assure you that the PDP is well and alive. Whoever thinks otherwise will be surprised beyond their imagination,” he said.
Makinde urged party leaders and members across the region to remain united and committed at the grassroots level, stressing the importance of strengthening the party’s structures within communities, wards, and local governments.
“So, my charge to you is, please hold your communities, hold your wards, hold your local governments, and it will be well with us,” he added.
The Oyo Governor also encouraged party members to be faithful and loyal, expressing optimism about the PDP’s future.
Adebutu in his welcome address to Makinde and other party leaders, said the PDP had proved its detractors wrong, insisting that the party remains united.
“Let’s remain firm in the PDP. We now have structures from ward to the national levels. So, we have nothing to fear,” Adebutu said.
