The Senate President, David Mark, on Wednesday dismissed reports that the Peoples Democratic Party Integration Committee for the South-West was plotting to impose a governorship candidate on the Oyo State chapter of the party.

Mark spoke in Abuja against the backdrop of an allegation by a group of PDP members known as ‘Rescue Team 2015’ that the Senate President-led integration committee was planning to impose a candidate on the state.

But Mark, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, denied the speculations when he met with stakeholders from Oyo State at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

He said, “We are not here to impose anybody or to choose a candidate for you.

“You are to choose your candidate and ensure that PDP wins her elections in Oyo State. That is the agenda handed over to us.

“The Committee did not select governorship aspirants that were invited for the meeting. Rather, every stakeholder was invited. I didn’t call governorship candidates to my house. The meeting here was open and all inclusive.”

The Senate President urged stakeholders in the Oyo PDP to work together and return the party to power in the interest of all.

He said, “We must all make sacrifices so that we can make progress. This committee alone cannot solve the problem. It requires our working together with you the stakeholders for PDP to win in Oyo State.

“You will choose your candidate based on the conviction that the candidate can win the election.

PUNCH