PDP : I won’t go into the gutters with anyone – Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday declared that he would not engage in personal attacks or “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters.”

Makinde spoke to reporters shortly after attending the South-West zoning consultative summit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos.

“Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are now going into the gutters. We will reach out to them. That is democracy,” he said.

The governor stressed that political disagreements should not become personal battles.“I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians because they are watching,” he added.

Makinde also insisted that the PDP remained a formidable political force despite recent challenges.“In all our states, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most other places of the 12 states, PDP came second. It is an indication to us that if we continue to work hard, we can reclaim the confidence of Nigerians,” he said.

Responding to questions on whether the PDP had decided to zone its presidential ticket to the South, the governor said the party was not yet at that stage.“We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat.

“Our efforts right now are directed towards having a vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again,” Makinde stated.

The summit was attended by key party leaders including the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara; Chairman of the National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; Enugu State Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai (representing Governor Peter Mba); former Osun Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Bode George; and Monsurat Sunmonu.

Also present were 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members from the South and other top stakeholders across the region.