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I’ll avoid Ladoja for now—Adedibu
WALE FADARIN,
Ibadan
ALMOST
24 hours after his rift with Gov. Rasheed Ladoja of Oyo State was resolved by
the national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, chieftain of
the party, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu yesterday vowed not to visit Ladoja at home or
in the office.
Fresh from the Abuja trip, Alhaji Adedibu,
who spoke with newsmen in Ibadan, at his Molete residence, however, said the
dispute was over.
He also said he was indispensable to the
PDP, pointing out that his expulsion was not discussed as it is a non-issue.
Adedibu said his decision not to visit the
governor either in his office or at home, was informed by the need to convince
the people of the state that he was not interfering in the governance of the
state.
"I will not go to his (Ladoja’s) office. I
will only wish him the best of luck. I have not been going to the governor’s
office or the Government House and I will not start now," he said.
"There is no more dispute, I swear in the
name of God. Everything is over now. We have decided to unite," he added.
Adedibu said he was happy with the way the
national secretariat of the party resolved the crisis, adding that the party was
fair to the two sides.
Adedibu said his expulsion and the statue
of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, which he was accused of vandalising
were not mentioned at the Abuja meeting because they were non-issues.
He berated those who accused him of
destroying the party in Oyo State, saying that those behind the allegations were
the ones who fuelled the crisis.
"I am the father of the party. How can
someone destroy his work? But now everything has been taken care of by the
party," he said.
Adedibu who also said he would not comment
on the state administration, however, said the party structure has nothing to do
with the governance of the state.
According to him, some people who
capitalised on the crisis to feather their nests were the ones giving false
information to the governor.
Adedibu, who said there were no longer any
factions in the party, also stressed that he was indispensable to the party.
"All of them are still ambitious and they
know that they can’t realise their ambition behind me," he said.
He, however, urged members of the party to
cooperate with Gov. Ladoja’s administration so that the party can maintain its
hold on the state in the next election.
Tussle between Gov. Ladoja and Alhaji
Adedibu started last year when the latter accused the governor of running a
one-man show in the state’s governance.
Adedibu alleged that Gov. Ladoja sidelined
people like him who worked tirelessly to ensure the governor won.
But, Ladoja and his close aides denied the
allegation, saying the egbon’s (elder brother’s) interest was well taken
care of.
The last local government election in the
state provided a test ground for supporters of both politicians who clashed,
leaving several people severely injured.
More bloodletting followed last month
between the loyalists when the PDP national leadership stormed Ibadan, the state
capital, and sought to reconcile both men.
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