Former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has blamed the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party on some internal forces, which he said are not \u201csleeping.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
He further dissociated himself from the party\u2019s leadership purportedly under the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.\n<\/p>\n
Oyinlola stated this on Wednesday during his interview on Channels TV\u2019s \u2018Politics Today\u2019 programme.\n<\/p>\n
Oyinlola was a PDP member and Osun governor from 2003 to 2010. He succeeded Adebisi Akande \u2014 the state\u2019s first democratically-elected governor.<\/p>\n
When asked if Wike was his leader, Oyinlola said, \u201cNo, not my leader. You don\u2019t say that kind of thing,\u201d he maintained, stressing, \u201cYes, I am a member of the PDP, but he\u2019s not my leader.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Oyinlola, a retired general, asserted that the FCT minister \u201cqualifies\u201d to be his \u2018boy\u2019 rather than his leader.<\/p>\n
He stated that Wike was in school when he (Oyinlola) served as the military governor of Lagos State from 1993 to 1996.<\/p>\n
Asked if Wike was his boy, Oyinlola said, \u201cHe qualifies to be. When I was governor in Lagos, where was he? In school.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we cannot go forward positively, smoothly, then you go and sit at home at 76. When I joined politics, I said whatever I did not achieve when I become 65, that I will go and rest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Asked if he was part of the \u201crainbow in Osun State,\u201d he stated that \u201cnobody has invited me to any rainbow. I don\u2019t know the meaning of rainbow except the one I see.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Rainbow coalition is a structure led by Wike to support President Bola Tinubu\u2019s 2027 re-election bid.\n<\/p>\n
Despite being a PDP member, Wike was appointed to serve under the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress administration. Hence, the coalition has drawn lots of criticisms from PDP members who alleged that the structure was working against the party and its success at the 2027 presidential poll.\n<\/p>\n
One of the prominent members of the PDP is former President Olusegun Obasanjo. However, Oyinlola noted that the ex-Nigerian leader has \u201ctried his best\u201d to resuscitate the party\u2019s structure, but such efforts are faced by some internal forces.\n<\/p>\n
Asked if he had discussed with Obasanjo about the party\u2019s state, Oyinlola noted, \u201cWe discuss. He\u2019s been trying to ensure that the party is re-engineered. But those who don\u2019t want it are working against it within the party. That\u2019s the much I can say.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has tried his best, let me say. But there are too many forces working against the unity of the party,\u201d adding that the PDP \u201cis not dead. The bone will rise again.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The former governor further claimed that the PDP \u201chas its tentacles up to every one of the 774 local governments. You just need to whip it up, and we get going.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we get our acts together, it\u2019s a thing we can achieve, but the forces making sure we don\u2019t get there are there. They are not sleeping.\u201d\n<\/p>\n