A former member of the House of Representatives, Shina Peller, along with thousands of Accord Party members in Oyo North Senatorial District, Oyo State, defected to the ruling People’s Democratic Party in the state on Thursday.
He was formerly received by the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, at Ode-Oba, Iseyin, in the Iseyin Local Government Area of the state.
The governor was represented by his deputy, Bayo Lawal.
Peller, who was elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress in 2019 to represent Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency, left the party in 2023 to secure the Oyo North Senatorial ticket of the Accord Party, but he lost the election to the candidate of the PDP, Fatai Buhari.
Peller, however, attributed Makinde’s exemplary leadership qualities to his decision.
He said, “When I wanted to contest Senatorial in APC, they said we are too small but I thank God, today we are in the right party, a big party. If you look at Nigeria today, we are so endowed, but lack of leadership is our problem.
“Nigeria is endowed with both human and natural resources but these resources have failed to translate to reality. So, there is no leadership when there is no leader.
“Seyi is a visionary leader, that’s why I joined the party.
“I have seen the reason to align with the vision of Makinde. There is no leadership when there is no vision. And we have seen the good work Makinde has done in this zone, Oke-Ogun. It has never happened in the history of Oyo North Senatorial district.
“From Moniya to Iseyin; Oyo to Iseyin; Ogbomoso to Iseyin and so on. It has never happened before. So, if you have a visionary leader like him, you have to support him. That’s why we have decided to join Governor Makinde and the PDP to move the state forward.
“It is good to go to where you are valued. PDP has shown that they value us. Our father has been clamouring for a tertiary institution for the past 70 years, Makinde gave us an institution. What of infrastructural facilities? He gave us. So, I want to announce that thousands of Accord Party members in the 13 Local Governments made up of Oyo North Senatorial district are here. They are here to join PDP. Wards Chairmen; Local Government Chairmen; women leaders; and also Senatorial district chairman are all here to defect to the ruling PDP because of the visionary leader of Makinde. I want to appeal to other political parties to join us to move the state forward, and I pray that we will not regret it.
“Some people came and asked: Why do I want to join PDP? And I said, I need power to move forward, I need power to progress, that’s why I joined PDP,” he stressed.
Makinde, while handing over the flag of the PDP to Peller, said, “You will not regret joining the PDP. Now that Peller has joined this party, we must not hear another party in Iseyin in particular, or in Oke Ogun in general.
“I want to advise our PDP executives in local governments to cooperate with them. The ward chairmen and local government chairmen of our PDP should give them a chance to operate.
“You should accommodate them because the local government election is fast approaching, so we should all join hands together to make sure that we clear all 33 local governments in the state,” he urged.
Dignitaries include the PDP South-West Chairman, Kamorudeen Ajisafe; the Lagos State PDP Governorship candidate in 2023, Olajide Adediran (Jandor); former Minister of Power and Steel, Wole Oyelese; former Oyo State PDP Chairman, Kunmi Mustafa; current member of the House of Representatives, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency in Oyo State, Abayomi Oyedeji; former Chief of Staff to late former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Saka Balogun; Nureni Akanbi; Senator Gbenga Babalola; Ahmed Gbadamosi; Gbadebo Adetoro; Ali Oyedeji; the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Federal Constituency Matters, Dare Adeleke; and a host of others. (Punch)
