he Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Diran Odeyemi has expressed concern over the planned defection of ex-Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao Akala and former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Odeyemi who said he was working to persuade the duo to rescind their decisions and remain in the PDP, however, declared that their stay in APC will be temporal, noting that they will soon return to PDP should they join the APC as being speculated.
DAILY POST gathered that all arrangements have been concluded by the APC to receive the duo of Akala and Folarin, House of Representatives member, Hon. Segun Odebunmi, ex-lawmaker, Hon. Kamil Akinlabi and host of others at an event slated to hold at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, this Saturday.
But, Odeyemi, a one time Aide to Chief Akala and a friend of Folarin while answering questions from journalists during a thank you visit to members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State council in Ibadan, on Wednesday said he was optimistic that even if the duo joined APC, they would soon rejoin the PDP six months to the 2019 general elections.
He said he had visited Folarin and was also planning to visit the ex-governor and see how they could be persuaded to rescind their decision of leaving PDP.
Odeyemi said “I represent PDP, as I am sitting here, as a member of the NWC, I can speak for PDP. It is unfortunate that we are losing Akala and Teslim Folarin to APC.
“I have gone to Teslim Folarin this afternoon, as a friend and as a representative of the PDP and I am trying to see if I can persuade him to drop the idea of joining APC.
“All the people who have gone to APC from PDP are returning, why is it that when they are coming back to PDP? If they had seen anything there, they will stay there, they will not bother to come to the PDP.
“He stated his own reason, he is not too happy that few personalities put at the helms of affairs of PDP in Oyo State are not recognising them and all efforts to advise him that they should wait and see what the new executive will do fell on deaf ears as if they have concluded.”
Odeyemi however predicted that the stay of the duo especially in APC would be temporal, noting that latest, six months to the general elections, the duo will return to PDP.
He said “But I predicted and I told him after six months, before governorship election in the state, the two of them will return to PDP and that is my prediction.”
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