Obasanjo still a member of PDP, says ex-party chair

A former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Elder Joju Fadairo, has faulted claims that former President Olusegun Obasanjo is no longer a member of the party, having torn his membership card way back in 2014.
Fadairo, a member of the National Executive Committee of the PDP, insisted that Obasanjo did not tear his membership card and that the card, which was torn on his behalf by a chieftain of the party, Chief Tunde Oladunjoye, bore no name.
Speaking in an interview in Abeokuta, Fadairo said, “If you look at the video very well, Oladunjoye didn’t tear any card. Oladunjoye is my ‘younger brother’ and he never did such a thing. It was one of the people at that gathering that tore a card, which I guess might not even have a name written on it. Obasanjo’s PDP membership card is still intact.
“I’m always in contact with Obasanjo; I call him uncle, and he has never told me and has never also told anybody that he has left PDP. I even learnt that Obasanjo showed his PDP card to some people in Ota recently. Obasanjo never tore his PDP membership card. He is still with us in PDP. Obasanjo never left PDP, so the question of whether he is coming back or not doesn’t arise. Obasanjo is still a bona fide member of PDP. Quote me on that.”
Fadairo also described Obasanjo as a man of principle who is not petty, stressing that at the appropriate time, the former President would surprise Nigerians on the issue of his PDP membership card.
The PDP chieftain also described as untrue, the belief that Obasanjo hates former President Goodluck Jonathan and by extension, the PDP.
He said, “During Jonathan’s campaign in 2011, Obasanjo and Jonathan made me chairman of Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation and I led Jonathan’s campaign in Ogun State that time. Obasanjo loved Jonathan; Obasanjo loved minority ethnic nationalities in the country and that was one of the reasons he ensured that Jonathan emerged as Nigeria’s president.
“Then if he fell out with Jonathan later, it was based on principle and not that Obasanjo hated Jonathan or PDP. Obasanjo is still in love with PDP.”
Fadairo also described as sacrilegious, the description of Senator Buruji Kashamu as PDP leader in Ogun State, saying the lawmaker did not deserve such a bestowal.
He said, “Talking about Kashamu, when some people pronounced him as PDP leader in Ogun State, that’s an insult. How can Buruji Kashamu be PDP leader in Ogun State? Even my humble self, I’m Buruji Kashamu’s leader in the PDP. So how can he be described as PDP leader in Ogun State when people like myself and several other elders, including former President Obasanjo, are still alive?
“Obasanjo is our leader; how can Kashamu be pronounced as Ogun State and South West PDP leader when people like Senator Jubril Martin Kuye, Senator Ayo Otegbola, myself, Obasanjo are still alive? That’s an insult. Buruji Kashamu can’t be our leader.”