I won’t return to PDP, Obasanjo tells Markafi

The National Caretaker Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Markafi, on Tuesday met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Presidential Library, Oke Mosan Abeokuta.

Other Chieftains of the Party that accompanied Markafi to the meeting were the State Caretaker Committee members, the Osun State Caretaker Committee Chairman of PDP, Chief Sarafa Tunji Isola and many others.

The one hour meeting was held behind closed door where the duo, Obasanjo and Markafi discussed varying issues on PDP matters.

It would be recalled that former Governor of Ogun State and a frontline aspirant for the national chairmanship seat of the party, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and members of the caretaker committee in the state paid Obasanjo a visit some days ago.

Obasanjo who spoke in pidgin and straight english while answering questions put across to him by Journalists after the meeting described his guest as a friend and close ally but declined to state the details of the meeting.

He said: “I will never return to the PDP, just like a dog would never return to its vomit.”

“Before, before I was in PDP but not now. God forbid, say when a dog vomits he go go back to eat his vomit again. No, I’ve said no partisan politics for me again and no partisan politics for me again”.

He described Nigeria as his passion, “But Nigeria is my passion until death do us part. And anything that concerns Nigeria, the good of Nigeria, you’d see my involvement”.

“So, chairman has come to greet me and I greet am. So, now that we have greeted ourselves, chairman will be going. You, gentlemen and ladies of the press can now go and leave the chairman alone”.

Speaking on the Survival of PDP as an opposition Party, Obasanjo said, “But I’ve said that publicly before and I will say that again. For our democracy to thrive and to continue to be strong, we need strong party in government and strong party in opposition”.

“It has to be that way, otherwise the party in government will get away with impunity and that is not good for democracy”.

All efforts for Journalists to get reactions from the visiting Caretaker Chairman, Senator Markafi was unsuccessful as he just commented that, “I aligned with what Baba have just said”.

Meanwhile, failure of the National Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the PDP to meet with the supporters of Senator Buruji Kashamu while in Abeokuta has continue to generate reactions.

The Kashamu faction Chairman of PDP in the State, Engineer Bayo Dayo was visibly angry that Senator Markafi shunned the group when he visited Abeokuta.

His words, “Only yesterday night, we heard that our national Caretaker Chairman Senator Markarfi is coming to the state today and we quickly sent message across the 20 local government telling them to join us in welcoming the great leader to the state.

And we also learnt that in his artillery he will be visiting BABA’s house which is a stone thrown to our office here, and as a result we assembled party men for us to welcome the national leader and to as well tell him our grievances but unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to see him as well as the party members do not have the opportunity of welcoming him to the state”.

Our carrying of placards today was to tell the chairman of our intensions and also to welcome him into the state.

We are not planning any attack, as you can see we are not carrying any arm nor engaging in any fracas as you can see I am an elderly man who will not engage in any fight whatsoever

I have never being involved in any violence in all my days in politics and I will not welcome violence from anyone. if you see our placards you will see that we are only welcoming him to the state.

When we heard that the chairman will be coming, we quickly came to the office to do some clean up and get prepared for him to be happy.

But today, so many of those going around as politician(s)does not have the interest of the party at heart but their own selfish interest and it is not supposed to be so.

We have being talking to the people about unity because we know that no election can won without unity but the modalities for that unification is what we should be thinking about, because there are so many greedy politicians in PDP.