A former Minister of Transport and Director-General of the Olabode George for national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has vowed to confront some chieftains of the party, led by the Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose.
He accused the chieftains of preaching a generational change, which, he said, is aimed at ridding the party of old and experienced politicians.
Babatope, speaking to Saturday Tribune in Lagos in a reaction to the failure of the party’s national convention to hold, again on Wednesday last week in Port Harcourt, stated that those canvassing such a generational change, including the Rivers State governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, will be the ones to leave the PDP for the so-called old generation members.
“What these boys are doing now is a new problem for the PDP and which we are going to fight in greater proportion. We will not leave PDP for them; they will leave the PDP for us. But we are going to fight them. It’s a monstrous problem,” he said.
The former minister who recalled that the failed convention was put together by those who saw themselves as young folks and were opposed to old and experienced politicians having anything to do with the PDP, said the target was to impose a simpleton and robot as the national chairman of the party.
“They came with dangerous propaganda that there must be generational change. What do they mean by generational change? Ayo Fayose has been canvassing that all old people in PDP must be pushed aside.
“Whoever is a good Christian or a good Muslim who has his senses correct knows that God would never, never be involved in any matter that is detrimental to the cause of mankind.
“If they think, with their age, power, money and everything, they can triumph over us, they are wasting their time because no matter how great any young man is, he can’t be greater than the older man who has experience.
“No child must toy with experience, status and age. Any child that does that would be destroying himself.
“So we are waiting for them. We are prepared for war and God Almighty knows that they have already established the very basis for war in PDP and we will never allow miscreants, vagabonds to dominate our party and destroy our party,” Babatope said.
It will be recalled that the party resolved to extend the tenure of the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee by one year following the blocking of the convention centre by security operatives who were acting on a ruling of an Abuja high court.