PDP to meet Ladoja, Adedibu in Abuja, says Bode George
By Kamal Tayo Oropo
THE crisis threatening to tear the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) apart in Oyo State may soon be resolved as the duo of the state Governor Rasheed Ladoja and his estranged political godfather, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, are scheduled to meet tomorrow in Abuja.
National Chairman of the party in the South-West, Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, disclosed this to The Guardian at the weekend at the third quarterly zonal meeting at the MicCom Golf Hotels Resort Limited, Ada, Osun State.
The occasion also witnessed the official opening of the resort which consist of an-18 hole golf course, a 90-room hotel, a standard swimming pool, a gym, lawn tennis court, banquet hall, three mini-halls and a five-acre forest for walk and therapy exercises by President Obasanjo.
According to George, the position of the party at the national level is that "Oyo State is too important to us. The voters are larger than the card-carrying members of the party and they are watching. So, we decided that we must put a stop to all these. The national level has invited the governor, Adedibu and others so that we can sit down tomorrow in Abuja. Not the usual crowd but the principal actors to sit down with the President".
The occasion which was attended by the PDP big-wigs, particularly from the South-West, also had the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okojo-Iweala as the guest speaker and she was assisted by the Director General, Budget, Dr. Bode Augusto.
The minister delivered a paper on "Infrastructural Development for Sustainable Growth".
While commending the effort of the government, Okonjo-Iweala said: "Though we are not where we want to be, electricity has been doubled from 2000 to 4000 megawatts. The target is 10,000 mw. Sixty-four per cent of Nigerians now have access to clean water, which is 14 per cent increment from what we met. By 2007, we expect 70 per cent. We don't talk of what is not achievable".
Emphasising that infrastructure is central to the achievement of the government's reform objectives, she said: "Great strides are being made. The battle has not been won with shortage of water, power and roads but there is hope. We are going to get there. We have hope, we are improving, we are breaking new grounds and we will make it".
