Ondo election: PDP inaugurates caretaker committee

The Ondo State State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday, inaugurated an 18-member caretaker committee in Ondo State to run the affairs of the party ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

PUNCH Online reports that the National Working Committee of the party last week constituted the committee for the state chapter of the party.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Debo Ologunagba.

The statement noted that the caretaker committee was constituted according to Section 29 (2) (b) of the party’s Constitution, and a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Bakita Bello, was appointed as the chairman of the committee.

Inaugurating the committee at the party Secretariat in Akure, the state capital, on Monday, the South-West National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Kamaru Ajisafe, admonished them to strive to fight for the victory of the party in the forthcoming governorship poll.

Ajisafe explained that the members of the caretaker committee were painstakingly selected with the assurance that they would deliver as all hands are on the desk to make sure that the party take over governance in 2025.

He said, “We painstakingly look at all the members of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, and they are going to deliver. They were the product of due process, they are going to deliver, and we can assure you that we are all on the same page and all hands are on deck to make sure that we take over the governance.

“Now that we know the level of poverty and the price of foodstuffs in town, I wouldn’t want to believe that any person will want to vote for APC at this point. Nobody will want to vote for them. I trust my president, Bola Tinubu, will not do anything to truncate this democracy. What I’m saying is that direct fortification of result will not come up.”.

In his remarks, the governorship candidate of the party Agboola Ajayi, advised the members of the newly inugurated caretaker committee to do their best in bringing everyone together to attain victory in the upcoming election.

He added that the masses are eagerly waiting for the party, and they cannot afford to let them down.

Reacting to the defection of some members from the party to the APC, the party’s flagbearer described the development as a normal thing in politics but stated that those decamping from the party were mainly exercising their rights.

He, however, noted that as some are leaving the party, many are massively joining the party and ready to take up responsibility.

Ajayi said, “My advice to the newly inaugurated members of the caretaker committee is to bring everybody together, to bring everybody together so that we can have victory in the next election. The people are waiting for us, and we cannot let them down.

“People decamping from the party is a normal thing. As some are leaving, more and more are coming in. Since 2009, this is the first time you will see the exodus of people from the ruling party decamping to PDP every day. Last two weeks, we were in Ikare, and six APC women leaders decamped to PDP. Yesterday I was at Ese-Odo. As a matter of fact, there is no APC there anymore. So if anybody is leaving, they are just trying to exercise their right, but I can assure you, no man is God, and I can tell you, anybody, that must have left, we will take their responsibility from where they stopped”.

In his address, the chairman of the newly elected caretaker committee, Bakita Bello, acknowledged that the road ahead might be challenging, but the members of the committee are ready to navigate through all challenges and will emerge stronger.

According to him, the committee will endeavour to reach out to every member of the party, including those at the grassroots, to ensure that every issue is addressed in order for the party to attain success in the forthcoming election.

“The road ahead may be challenging, but I am confident that we can navigate these challenges and emerge stronger. We will reach out to every member of our party from the grassroots to the leadership, ensuring that every voice is heard and every concern is addressed,” Bello said.