BY UCHECHI OKPORIE
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has declared that disruptive elements within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he described as “vagabonds” have been expelled and that the party’s state chapter is now unified and free of internal strife.
Speaking on Tuesday during the official unveiling of the newly completed PDP state secretariat in Ibadan, the governor said the party has overcome years of discord and is now charting a peaceful course forward.
Makinde drew on a traditional Yoruba proverb to explain the situation, saying that true peace only comes when disruptive influences no longer dominate party affairs.
According to the governor, the group he referred to as “vagabonds” rose to prominence after the PDP lost power at the federal level in 2015, a period that created a leadership vacuum and internal power struggles.
He noted that these individuals held sway within the party for nearly a decade before being removed from PDP affairs in November 2025.
“They grew up in 2015, they had their time, and for ten years they practised their vagabondry in the PDP,” Makinde said.
“But they have been expelled, and so there is no more vagabond in the PDP.”
The governor also made it clear that neither he nor the Oyo State government is involved in ongoing legal battles linked to internal party disputes or national leadership crises.
Reflecting on his own political journey, Makinde admitted that he was once aligned with the group but said he has since withdrawn his support.
He emphasised that he would not back any attempts by the faction to regain control of the party in the future.
In closing, Makinde suggested that the influence of these former power brokers was waning, predicting that they would soon fade into irrelevance
