Revealed: How Atiku, Mark, Saraki Refused to Stop Oyinlola

Chuks Okocha

Facts have emerged on how a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and two former Senate Presidents, David Mark and Bukola Saraki declined an offer by governors of the PDP to ask an aspirant for the position of Deputy National Chairman (South), Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to step down his ambition.

A source confided in THISDAY that on the day of the convention, governors of the party had approached the trio of Atiku, Saraki and Mark to impress it on Oyinlola to step down his ambition, and endorse their consensus candidate, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja.

According to the source, the three leaders, all from the Northern bloc of the party, declined the offer given to them by the governors on the ground that the issue at stake was of concern primarily to the Southwest and for which they would not want to be involved.

At the convention, the position of Deputy National Chairman (South) that was keenly contested between Arapaja, who was declared winner after polling 2,004 votes and Oyinlola, who garnered 705 votes.

A source that spoke to THISDAY on the intrigues at the convention, said, “It is true that the governors tried to activate the consensus option in the contest for the position of Deputy National Chairman (South).

“Three leaders were approached to impress it on Oyinlola to step down. Atiku, Saraki and Mark to be precise. But the three of them initially declined the offer, saying they will not want to get involved in a matter that concerns the Southwest.

“I guess that the governors gave them the assignment on the basis of their neutrality in the whole election and I presume that was also the reason they didn’t want to take the governors’ request to Oyinlola. They didn’t want to compromise their neutrality.

“But eventually, they yielded to the governors and approached Oyinlola, who was adamant on going to the election. At that point, there was nothing anyone could do about the situation,” the source said.

Oyinlola is a former governor of Osun state and former Secretary of the main opposition party, while Arapaja, who is the consensus candidate of the governors, is a former deputy governor of Oyo State and was promoted chiefly by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.

When contacted, a media aide to Atiku, Paul Ibe, said he was not in a position to comment on what happened at the convention, but hinted that, “His Excellency Atiku Abubakar didn’t have any preferred candidate and it goes without saying that he is very comfortable with the successful outcome of the convention.

“No one believed that the PDP could pull such a successful convention and now that the new leadership has been elected, the party is stronger for it. It is a win-win outcome for every member of the party and it is only good that the party consolidates on the gains that it has recorded now and set machinery in motion to begin the process of rescuing Nigeria from the current ruins that the APC has made of the country.”