Factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Sikirullai Ogundele, has declared that the party is “dead and ready for burial.”
Naijaonpoint reports that Ogundele cited unresolved internal crises, ineffective leadership, and widespread defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as reasons for the collapse.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday Punch, Ogundele, who served as PDP state chairman for nearly eight years, did not mince words as he criticised what he described as “transactional politics” and the party’s inability to resolve its lingering crises.
Ogundele stated that the PDP had lost all credibility and cohesion.
“PDP is fractured, and you cannot walk with a fractured leg. In all ramifications, PDP is gone; it is like the party is under a spell,” he lamented.
He pointed to the unresolved leadership tussle at the national level, including the ongoing controversy surrounding the office of the National Secretary, as a major factor fuelling disunity within the party.
According to him, internal reconciliation efforts were undermined by personal interests.
“A reconciliation committee was set up, but when members got to some states, they collected money from the highest bidder and gave their recommendations. Their recommendations were transactional, not credible,” Ogundele said.
Although Ogundele has not formally resigned from the PDP, he confirmed that his faction had begun making moves to join the APC.
On Monday, he led some PDP members, including Adekunle Akinlade, the 2023 deputy governorship candidate, on a closed-door visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun, a meeting described by insiders as strategic.
“PDP has been mismanaging its crisis, and this has led to the losses recorded during the elections. All these shenanigans have killed the party, and I think the next thing is to just bury the party,” he said.
Ogundele, who fell out with PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate Ladi Adebutu, has since led a splinter group within the party.
He added that many members were preparing to join the APC as part of an “anti-Tinubu coalition” but acknowledged that aligning with the ruling party would offer more political relevance.
“If you still want to be relevant in politics, it is better for you to be a member of a ruling political party than to be the chairman of a useless, fractured, and badly managed political party,” he said.
Reacting to the development, the rival factional chairman, Abayomi Tella, admitted that Ogundele’s possible defection would be significant.
“I’m going to miss Ogundele if he leaves the PDP, that is if he actually wants to go, because I can assure you that his soul remains in this party,” Tella said.
However, he dismissed the other defectors as “inconsequential.”
“When you are talking about others, I don’t want to talk about them. They are inconsequential, and I stand to be corrected,” he added.
Tella insisted that the PDP in Ogun was not finished but merely undergoing restructuring. He expressed confidence that the party would regain its footing ahead of the 2027 general elections.