THE Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has said he will not engage in personal or degrading political battles, stressing that his focus remains on service delivery and strengthening his party.
Speaking to journalists today after the South-West zoning consultative summit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Makinde stated that he would not descend into “the gutters” with anyone, regardless of provocation.
“Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are now going into the gutters, but we will reach out to them because that is democracy. I can disagree with people, but it should never be personal. What matters is what we are offering Nigerians because they are watching,” the governor said.
Makinde also maintained that despite challenges, recent elections have shown that the PDP remains a strong force nationwide.
“In all our states, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most of the 12 states, PDP came second. That shows if we continue to work hard, we can regain Nigerians’ confidence,” he added.
On the question of zoning the PDP presidential ticket to the South, Makinde explained that such discussions were premature.
“We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a strong party first before talking about presidential candidates. Without a united PDP, anything we attempt will fall flat. Right now, our efforts are focused on building a vibrant, united PDP that Nigerians will believe in again,” he said.
The Lagos meeting was attended by key party leaders, including the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara; Chairman of the PDP National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri; Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun and Peter Mba of Enugu (represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai); former Osun governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Bode George; Monsurat Sunmonu; as well as 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members from the region and other stakeholders from the South.