By Ola Ajayi
IBADAN—A coalition within the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State has issued  a 7-day ultimatum to the national leadership of the party to take a decisive position on the lingering crisis that is threatening the existence of the party in the state.

Led by Senator Lekan Balogun, the group condemned alleged unbearable silence of President Goodluck Jonathan after getting the outcome of a meeting held in lagos close to a month ago.

The silence, according to Balogun who was addressing newsmen at his Alarere residence, Iwo road, yesterday,  said if not addressed, could take its toll on the presidential ambition of the president.

As a good leader who values democratic values, he said the group had expected President Jonathan to personally invite them to the stakeholders meeting held at Mapo Hall on Sunday. He said it was wrong for the president to send Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to invite them since he is one of the feuding parties in the crisis.

Senator Lekan stressed  that the call by the president for leaders in the zone to work harder to win the South West would be tantamount to fantasy if he (Jonathan) failed to convince the people in the state that he is a true democrat as being touted.

He said: “What the president did by having the so-called stakeholders meeting on Sunday was to play to the gallery of the Governor who has destroyed the good political structure he met on ground. We will not ask the electorates to vote for people like that. The governor himself will not return in 2011.

“For us, his second coming is not negotiable. President Jonahtna will have to convince our people that he is a true democrat and should not make people believe that he is too weak to be committed to democratic principles.”

He explained that it was not politically wise for the president to have underrated the group because they would surely wield the power they have.

“So we are giving the national leadership of the party a 7_day notice after which we will make our stand known. We will consider the option of leaving the party or doing something else. This tyrannical antics would not be tolerated anymore. The governor has destroyed the party.

The President must be committed to true democratic values”, he stated. To him, it was not wise for the President to lose 14 delegates that could be instrumental to his ambition adding that eight of the lawmakers who should part of the delegates were not at the meeting.

He explained further that there were great democrats within the PDP, but the a bulk of the leadership was undemocratic.