A former deputy governor of Oyo State, Taofeeq Arapaja, has emerged the vice-chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in the Southwest.
At the PDP zonal congress in Osogbo, Arapaja got 343 votes to defeat his rival, Eddy Olafeso, who got 330 out of the 675 cast; while 10 votes were voided.
The election was mainly between the camp of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde which supported Arapaja and the camp of a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, which supported Olafeso.
Both Fayose and Makinde promised to work together with the new executives of the party in the zone to face the All Progressive Congress in the future elections.
Olafeso conceded defeat and promised to work with Arapaja to move the party forward.
Arapaja promised to reposition the party in the zone and make it strong to be able to defeat APC in the next elections.
Earlier, Fayose had told PDP members to recognize Makinde as the leader of the party in the zone.
“Nobody has offended me and if I’ve offended anybody, I sincerely apologise. Seyi Makinde remains our father in the party”, Fayose said.
Makinde described the congress as a family contest, saying “no victor, no vanquish This is a family affair. It is an attempt to reposition our party in the Southwest”.
Meanwhile, the police shot sporadically yesterday to disperse suspected hoodlums at the entrance to the venue of the congress.
The hoodlums were reportedly calling Fayose’s name, threatening to deal with him.
The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Wale Olokode, who led the team that dispersed the hoodlums, also reportedly shot canisters while the hoodlums fled in different directions.
