Ex-commissioner emerges Lagos PDP Chairman
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Congress Committee in Lagos, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Monday afternoon, declared a former Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism in the state, Mr Philip Aivoji, as the newly-elected Chairman of the party.
Aivoji in a keenly contested election on Sunday defeated Dr. Amos Fawole with 839 votes to 816.
Announcing the results on Governor Diri said six candidates contested the Chairmanship including Aivoji, Fawole; Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, King Okuneye; Niyi Adams and Dr. Abiodun Adebiyi.
Okuneye scored 56 votes; Adams polled 29 votes while Pearse and Adebiyi scored zero votes each.
Douye added: “I believe there is no winner, the winner is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“And so, everybody should work in a way and in a manner to ensure that the PDP remain united as a family.
“Even those who had the ambition to lead the party but lost should support the winners to ensure that come 2023 the PDP will take over Lagos State.”
“After the transparent and open electoral process of the Lagos State PDP State Congress, I hereby announce the following results.
Reacting, Aivoji who is from Badagry Local Government expressed willingness to work with all the PDP leaders to change the fortunes of the party and prepare it for 2023 electoral victory.
Other elected members included Benedict Tai (Deputy Chairman), Mr Soji Orioye (Secretary); Mrs Idowu Akinsanya (Women Leader); Mr Hakeem Amodu (Publicity Secretary), among others.
The outcome of the election saw delegates jettisoning the consensus arrangement earlier adopted by the party which would have produced Fawole.
Aivoji emerged from the Engr Deji Doherty camp of the Lagos PDP to defeat the candidate from the camp of Chief Bode George, the former National Deputy Chairman of the party, Dr Amos Fawole at the congress which commenced on Sunday and ended at noon of Monday.
Also reacting, the newly elected Publicity Secretary of the party, Hakeem Amode, applauded the party leaders for giving the state a free and fair congress, saying that it was first of its kinds in the party.
Amode boasted that the outcome of the congress was a new beginning for Lagos PDP, saying that new executives would work assiduously with party members and leaders to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state come 2023.
”Today is the beginning of a new dawn for Lagos PDP and I can assure you that we will sack APC from Lagos House in 2023. We will work as a team to achieve it because it is achievable “, said Amode.
