A former
Governor of
Osun State,
Prince
Olagunsoye
Oyinlola, on
Tuesday met
behind
closed doors
with President Goodluck Jonathan inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A source close to the meeting said the former governor was begged by the
President to support the PDP during the election.
Oyinlola, a former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, was led
to the meeting with the President by the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji
Adamu Mu’azu.
The meeting, which lasted about an hour, was said to have discussed the
forthcoming governorship election in Osun State and the disputed position of
the PDP National Secretary, currently being occupied by Prof. Wale Oladipo.
At the end of the meeting, Oyinlola told State House correspondents that
Mu’azu brought him to meet with the President on how to improve the party’s
fortunes.
He also said he remained the party’s National Secretary in the eye of the law,
describing “whoever is currently holding the office as a pretender.”
The former governor said, “I was taken to the Villa by the Chairman of the PDP,
and we had some discussions on to how to move the fortunes of the party
forward. All I am telling you is that Oyinlola in the face of the law remains the
authentic secretary of the PDP. Anybody in that office for now is a pretender!”
He left the President’s office before Mu’azu.
Some leaders of the All Progressives Congress had recently visited Oyinlola in
his home town, Okuku, with a view to wooing him into their fold.
The former governor was quoted as saying that his continued presence in the
PDP would be decided by Jonathan.
The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak
on the issue, said Oyinlola was asked at the meeting to support the candidate
of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore for the governorship election.
He said, “The President pleaded with him to support Omisore and the party and
also to help in the campaign of the party.
“The President told him that he would want him (Oyinlola) to be present at the
party’s campaign when he would be coming in order to give an assurance that
he is with the PDP.”
In response to the demand by Oyinlola that he be reinstated as the National
Secretary of the PDP as ordered by the Court of Appeal, the President was said
to have said that the issue would be looked into.
It was also gathered that the President did not make any commitment on
whether the PDP would be asked to withdraw its appeal on the issue, which is
pending at the Supreme Court.
Because of this, it was gathered that the former governor and his supporters
were of the opinion that the President and the party wanted to use them to win
the election and later abandon them.
“We know the gimmick. We know the politics. We also know what they are up
to. They want us to be committed to them and later abandon us. We are wiser,”
the source added.
Our correspondent also gathered that the President and the leadership of the
party were not ready to trade away the current occupier of the office of the
National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, who is the candidate of Omisore and
PPP leader in the South-West, Alhaji Buruji Kashamu.

The earlier he takes the offer, the better for him. With(out) him it seems PDP is bound to win in Osun, judging by the number of enemies Aregbe has made for himself.