By Lawrence Agbo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s daughter and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate in Ogun State, Iyabo Obasanjo, has said that, as far as she is concerned, the party has no presidential candidate, insisting her campaign is focused solely on winning in Ogun State.
Speaking during an interview, Obasanjo said she could not recall being introduced to the PDP’s presidential candidate at a recent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and therefore had no reason to campaign for someone she did not know.
“To my knowledge, there is no PDP presidential candidate. If it’s the one you mentioned, I don’t know him, there’s no reason for me to tell people to vote for him because at that meeting they did not actually tell us anything of the sort,” she said.
The former Ogun State senator explained that her priority remained the state’s governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections rather than the party’s national campaign.
“I think, really it’s not important, to be honest, if we have a presidential candidate or not because the focus of our campaign in Ogun State is Ogun State. I am not in this race as part of the national campaign; we are focused on our state,” she added.
Asked whether she would join the PDP presidential candidate if he campaigns in Ogun State, Obasanjo said she had received no information from the party’s national leadership about such a visit and was uncertain she would participate.
“As of now, we have no information from the national office that the presidential candidate will be coming to the state. I do not believe I will be there because, again, my focus is Ogun State. I am not really focused on the national race in any shape or form,” she stated.
On the internal challenges facing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Obasanjo said it was normal for political parties to seek to attract aggrieved members from rival camps.
“Isn’t that the game in politics? Isn’t that what politics is all about? It is the job of everybody to keep their internal people together,” she said.
She also argued that political parties should manage post-primary disputes by ensuring aggrieved members feel included, saying cohesion was essential for electoral success.
“Sometimes it’s not money. Sometimes it’s just this feeling that you are part of something. Politics is being part of a group and knowing that that group has your interests at heart,” she said.
(The Sun)