Makinde, Adeleke reconcile, poised to rebuild Southwest PDP ahead 2027

Govs Settle For Kosolowoe As National Vice Chairman

On Friday, December 15, 2023, Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and his counterpart from Osun, Ademola Adeleke met at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State, to forge a common front and end their ‘misunderstanding.’

Though, several members of the Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) consider their actions as self-serving rather than in the larger interest of the party, one of the interesting aspects of their meeting was the agreement between the duo to present and support Barrister Kamar Ajisafe Kosolowoe, a former council chairman and Special Adviser to Governor Adeleke on Tax Matters, as national vice chairman Southwest of the party.

Recall that since the demise of the immediate past national vice chairman of PDP Southwest, Soji Adagunodo, who died after a brief illness in the U.S.A earlier in May 2023, the zone is yet to replace him allegedly because of the perceived acrimony between Makinde and Adeleke.

Governor Makinde was said to have played a significant role in the emergence of the late Adagunodo as national vice chairman in spite of Adeleke disapproval, who had at one time alleged that the former Osun PDP state chairman was not in support of his gubernatorial ambition.

There was an allegation from the camp of Adeleke that the late Adagunodo did not support the governor in 2022, but worked for the emergence of Akin Ogunbiyi, the Chairman of Mutual Assurance, who was the runner up to Adeleke in the governorship primary election.

Whether some members of the party in the zone believe or not that Adeleke and Makinde were once at loggerheads, there are considerations that buttress their recent reconciliation going by the fact that when the incumbent Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Taofik Arapaja, who was the former national vice chairman Southwest and a Man-Friday of Governor Makinde was contesting for his present position, the Oyo State governor ensured that his preferred candidate, Adagunodo from Adeleke’s State replaced Arapaja.

Perhaps the ‘dancing’ governor may have considered Makinde’s actions, at the time, a big threat to his gubernatorial ambition. Makinde’s disposition towards the Osun State governor wasn’t a friendship move at all and the erstwhile senator treated it as such.

While Governor Makinde is a gentle, soft spoken introvert but hard politician who knows what he wants and goes for it, Adeleke is an extrovert but also calculative. Their styles and patterns of politics are never the same.

Therefore when Adagunodo suddenly passed on in May, some pundits said it became slightly difficult for Adeleke to present a successor without seeking the input of Makinde.

The acrimony between the duo also manifested when Makinde tactically distanced himself from Adeleke all through the Osun State gubernatorial primary and even during the campaign. The Oyo State governor simply managed to congratulate Adeleke when he defeated the former governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Another scenario that confirmed their feud was the ego of who leads the Southwest PDP. While Adeleke was actively supporting the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the party in the last general elections, Makinde pitted his tent with the G-5 governors, who posited that a northerner and immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, could not have spent eight years to be succeeded by Atiku, another northerner irrespective of political party affiliation or sentiments.

Makinde and his group also believed that Atiku being a northerner, could not have emerged as PDP presidential candidate while at the same time the erstwhile PDP national chairman, Iyochia Ayu is also from the same zone. Adeleke did not share this view with Makinde and the G-5. Perhaps the position of Osun State governor was that power must be wrestled from APC first before other issues were resolved.

At a point the National headquarters of PDP under the leadership of Ayu did everything to position Adeleke as leader of Southwest PDP to spite Makinde, who had been a governor almost three years before the Osun State governor was elected. The development further worsened the relationship between the duo.

Further still, Makinde also deliberately distanced himself and the Oyo PDP from a mega rally organised for Atiku in Ibadan before the February 25 2023 presidential election, a programme in which Adeleke played a significant role.

In retaliation, Adeleke also shunned Makinde’s re-election campaign for the March 18 2023 gubernatorial poll in Ibadan. Since 2022 when Adeleke became Osun State governor there had never been any cordial relationship between the two executives despite the fact that they are the only two governors of PDP in Southwest.

Makinde is seen to be sympathetic with incumbent President Bola Tinubu of APC to show his anger over the northerners’ penchant for power while Adeleke has no choice than to remain loyal to those who bailed him out when the ruling APC attempted to rob him of his governorship mandate again in 2022.

As the acrimony was ongoing, the position of national vice chairman Southwest remained vacant. Southwest PDP activities remain low since there is no coordinator.

An inside source however narrated how the two governors, who were practically not in talking terms reconciled under unavoidable circumstances at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings in Abuja.

The source said that contrary to the narratives that Adeleke went to Oyo State House in Abuja to prostrate and beg Makinde for reconciliation, “At the FEC meeting, the two governors have to sit beside each other based on the alphabetical arrangement of seats. Osun has to sit beside Oyo. In the last nine months and especially from May, both governors have been forced to exchange views and share opinions of critical state matters. Gradually they warmed into each other and with the intervention of their colleagues they saw the reason they should bury their differences and move forward.”

The source added that it was in that process that Adeleke decided to visit Oyo government House in Abuja and not necessarily to beg. “In the process also the agreement to fill the vacant seat of the national vice chairman Southwest, which culminated into the first Southwest PDP leadership meeting held last month in Osogbo, Osun state.

During the meeting, the two governors restated their resolve to strengthen the party in the region.A statement by Oladele Bamiji, a Senior Special Assistant to the Osun governor, said that Makinde was in Abuja, but joined the meeting virtually.

Addressing the meeting, Adeleke acknowledged the commitment of the Southwest PDP executives to making the party stronger in the zone, just as he went further to say that he and Makinde had agreed to improve PDP’s fortune in the region.

“We are all brothers. We, the two leaders, have decided to forge ahead in the interest of our party,” Adeleke said. He maintained his commitment to the progress of the PDP in the Southwest zone, saying his door was always open to whatever would aid the growth of the party.

Makinde, who joined the meeting virtually, said he was on the same page with Adeleke on building the Southwest PDP, assuring those at the meeting of the resolve of both leaders to unite the party.

The acting Chairman of the PDP in Southwest, Rahman Owokoniran, commended Adeleke for the step towards building the party in the zone. It was during the meeting Kosolowoe was first mentioned as the proposed successor of Adagunodo.

But explaining how the December 15 2023 meeting held in Ibadan came up, Diran Odeyemi, said, there was no fight between both governors but that does not mean they cannot hold different views on issues.

He said since Governor Makinde was unable to attend the November meeting held in Osogbo, Adeleke thought it wise to take Kosolowoe to Ibadan for a formal introduction to the Oyo State governor and to further deliberate on how to unite PDP in the zone ahead of the coming Ondo governorship polls.

Odeyemi added that going by the performance of PDP in Southwest during the last general elections, something needed to be done to strengthen the party and reposition it. “The two leaders at present are Makinde and Adeleke. They needed to agree on a national vice chairman, who would lead the movement to unite and strengthen the party with the backing of the governors. That informed the Ibadan meeting.”

In Ibadan, both governors reiterated their commitments to align and to strengthen the party across Southwest. Makinde described Adeleke as his brother and said their meeting was centered around the unity and well-being of the PDP and the development of the South-West geopolitical zone.

He said: “Like my brother said, we are one. We discussed issues around the unity of our party in the South-West and alignment, and we are aligned. I can assure you that we will do what we are supposed to do.”

Adeleke on his part, lauded Governor Makinde for his giant strides in infrastructure development in Oyo State, noting that his government had been toeing the same path of massive infrastructure development in Osun State. He added that they both had a robust discussion on the South-West PDP and have resolved to be on the same page.

“I am proud to be here in Oyo State, because we are brothers. I am just coming from my working vacation in Bangkok, Thailand, and I felt that coming from Lagos, I could not just go home but pay a visit to my brother, Governor Seyi Makinde, to tell him that I am back.

“I love him and I want to tell him that he is doing a good job in Oyo State. I want to give him a report card on the infrastructure he is doing in the state, which made him win a second term.”

However many chieftains of PDP are still in doubt about the sincerity of both governors to unite and reposition PDP in the zone. A chieftain of the party from Ondo, who spoke off the record, said, “How do you expect Makinde to help unite a party he helped to destroy? To me, he is merely for a soft landing in 2027 when he will complete his two term tenure.

“As for Adeleke, he is simply planning ahead of his second term in 2026 considering the fact that President Tinubu will be interested in the next Osun governorship poll. He might need Makinde to build the network or do the networking.”

In another reaction, a member of Lagos PDP, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, commended the decisions of the governors to close ranks but he added that it would take more than their reconciliation or reunion to reposition Southwest PDP.

According to him, “All hands must be on the deck to achieve this and the national body will need to play a significant role in this.”

Pearse also said the duo were coming together strategically ahead of 2027 when it is most likely that the presidential ticket of PDP will come to the South. “I think they understand what they are doing since Southwest is a very critical region.”