Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, at the weekend, said the recent reconciliatory efforts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state were yielding positive results.

President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, also called on Nigerians to cultivate the habit of building bridges of understanding, confidence and trust with one another in order to build a society where no one or group would feel neglected or oppressed.

However, while the party's local government congress in Kwara State was described as peaceful, the exercise in Oyo State was allegedly marred by violence.

Speaking on the conduct of the exercise in Koko, headquarters of Warri North local government area, Uduaghan noted that the rapprochement in the party was responsible for the peaceful conduct of the congresses across the state.

He said: "This development is an indication that our reconciliatory efforts within the PDP were working and yielding results. Once we are able to get the ward and local government structure right, then we will have no problem with the zonal, state and national congress. This will enhance governance in the country."

On his part, Mark said: "Time has come for all of us to discard those mundane issues that breed disunity and tend to divide us rather than bring us together as one people. The world is changing, we must put our acts together and join the global trend of meaningful development. We can achieve this goal if we see ourselves as one people created by one God."

In Kwara, the congress was well attended by party loyalists and supporters, including women and youths across the 16 local government councils of the state.

At Ilorin South local government area, the congress held at Pake in Ilorin, the former chairman of the party in the local government, Mr. Mohammed Adam, was unanimously returned for a second term and his emergence was attributed to his transparency and good leadership style.

The party secretary and the vice-chairman in the local government area, Oba Suleiman and Saadu Ahmed respectively, were also returned. At Ilorin East and other local government councils in the state, congress were also peaceful without record of any breach of peace or rancour.

Meanwhile, there were reported clashes among factional leaders of the PDP in some local councils in Ibadan, which cast a dark pall on the peaceful conduct of the local government congress in the state on Saturday.

At least, two persons were reportedly injured in a clash of superiority between Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarunmi, a leader of the party in Ibadan North local government and a former chairman of the council, Demola Omotoso.

In a chat with journalists, the chairman of Ilorin South local government area, Dr.  Abubakar Adebayo Ishola, described the congress as peaceful.

According to him, "This is the first time leaders in the local government work as a team in order to achieve the same goal."

In his remark, the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Mohammed Raji Atolagbe, said the attitude of the people towards the congresses showed that they were in support of the new executives.

Reacting to the conduct of the party congresses throughout the 16 local governments in the state, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Masud Adebimpe, said the congress had showed the true reflection of the name as the State of Harmony.

The clash had centred on the chairmanship position of the local government chapter of the party with each of the two leaders supporting different candidates.

Two pick up vehicles of the state joint anti-crime squad had to be stationed at the Salvation Army Primary School, Yemetu, venue of the congress, to restore peace and orderliness.

Spokesperson of the command, Olabisi Okuwobi, confirmed the violence but claimed that only one person was injured through stones thrown at the people that came to disrupt the congress.

In his reaction through a telephone conversation, Gbolarumi maintained that nobody was insisting that his or her candidate should emerge winner at all cost, but that there must be justice and fair-play stressing that it would be out of place for anybody or group of persons to think it could impose candidates on the party leaders in the council.

Speaking also, leader of the Congress Monitoring Team from the National Headquarters of the party, Ismail Hussein commended the arrangement put in place for the congress by the transition committee of the party in the state.

He described the arrangement as a perfect one, noting that he was yet to be aware of any rancour within the party, the point he stressed while addressing party supporters at St. Annes Grammar School, Molete, the congress venue of the Ibadan South-East local government area.