FORMER Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party will not win any election in Lagos State unless the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bode George, is told to retire from politics.
Fayose said George, at his age, should sit at home and give blessings to younger ones aspiring to grow and not drag positions with them.
Without telling the PDP chieftain to take a back seat, the former governor said, the party would not make progress or win elections in Lagos State.
He advised stakeholders that they must first “separate the wheat from chaff” before the party could turn around for good.
He spoke through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, on Wednesday, in a statement titled, ‘Lagos PDP must retire Bode George to make progress, urges support for BOG to win senatorial bye-election – Fayose’.
Fayose, who was quoted to have made the statement during the inauguration of the PDP Campaign Committee for the Lagos East Senatorial By-election, noted that if the elders in the party refused to take a back seat, the younger ones would force them to do so.
In this regard, he pointed out that George should be a support stand for the younger ones and not be in a situation where he would be dragging positions with them.
He, however, called for the support of stakeholders for the PDP candidate in the senatorial by-election, Babatunde Gbadamosi, saying, “Lagos is ripe for PDP to take and we will take the state if we work hard and put our house in order.”
“This senate election is for PDP to take if we are ready to take it. You have done it before by producing House of Reps members and you can do it again by producing a senator,” he added.
Fayose said, “It is high time to tell Bode George to go and retire. Let him be a support stand for the younger ones in the party.
“As I am here, I am about 60 years of age; I have grown above fighting for minister that it will get to a point and someone will say he is sacking me. I will never be such minister not to talk of contesting any post with younger ones in the party.”
He added, “It is time for young people in the party to tell elderly ones to take the back seat. I’m not against the elders, but I want them to know when to take the back seat. If they don’t, the young ones will force them.
“All those stories of ‘we formed this party in 1998, eight of us sat in my sitting room to form the party,’ is no longer important because the younger ones too must be allowed to grow.
“At this level, if you see any elder contesting chairman with the younger ones, you must know that such fellow needs to be retired.
“I am Ayodele Fayose, you can quote me anywhere. I said you must retire Bode George if you want progress in the PDP in Lagos. You must stand firm and fight for your right.”
