…As Two Candidates Remain Adamant
March 13, (THEWILL) – As the preparation towards the July 16, 2022 governorship election in Osun State gathers momentum, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be in disarray.
Emerging feelers indicate that the party is divided into two opposing groups, with no sign of reconciliation in sight.
Signs of division in the party came into the open when two governorship candidates emerged from the parallel primaries held on Tuesday, March, 8, 2022 in Oshogbo, the state capital.
While Senator Demola Adeleke emerged winner of the primary election held at the Oshogbo Township Stadium, Prince Dotun Babayemi won the one organised by another faction of the party at the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF).
Political analysts realised that the primary that produced Senator Adeleke as the winner was the authentic one, after he was presented with a Certificate of Return by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party led by the National Chairman, Prof. Iyorchia Ayu last Thursday.
Babayemi however said ” Presentation of certificate of return by the NWC is part of the electoral process. The process does not finish with this.
“It is an ongoing process. The electoral journey doesn’t end until a right candidate is sworn in. We have our party internal mechanism. Even though the NWC has taken this action, there is a NEC. This is not the end of journey.”
The organisers of the primary that produced Babayemi, who are eminent leaders of the party in the state, including members of the Board of Trustees, a former governor of the state and a former deputy governor, believe they will still triumph at the end of the day.
Speaking during the primary at WOCDIF, a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, said, “We know what we are doing. What we are doing here is not against the law or constitution of the party. This is where all the leaders of the party are gathered. Those at the Osun State Stadium are there for money. We are for the people. It is a pity that the NWC of the party has refused to do the right thing.
Also speaking, a former governor of the state, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said, “Let them say what they like. What we did at the primary that produced Dotun Babayemi as the governorship candidate of the party is legitimate. But we are not going to allow money to becloud our sense of reasoning. They have done their own, we have done ours. Let us know what will happen.”
Speaking during the primary election, Dele Adeleke said, “The law of the party is clear. Some people think they can use what they have to oppress the people. We are here for no other reason than to produce the best candidate for the people of Osun State. Our primary is in consonance with the law and the court has even validated what we did with all the judgements in our favour.”
In their reaction to victory, Babayemi described his election as a call to duty, while Adeleke said he was poised for victory.
At the primary held at the Oshogbo City Stadium under the supervision of Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Senator Ademola Adeleke was declared winner.
According to Ewhrudjakpo, who announced the results of the election, Adeleke scored 1, 887 votes, while his closest rival Sanya Omirin, scored four votes. The primary was supervised by the PDP’s representatives from Abuja and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
No representative of the party or INEC was present during the primary held at WOCDIF, Oshogbo, where Prince Dotun Babayemi was declared winner.
Ewhrudjakpo said that other aspirants, except Dele Adeleke who scored just one vote, got zero votes.
Ewhrudjakpo said that a total of 1,916 votes were recorded, while 24 votes were invalid.
“By the power conferred on me as the Chief Returning Officer of this gubernatorial primary, we, hereby collectively declared Adeleke Ademola Jackson, as the winner of this primary for 2022 governorship election in Osun,” he said.
Ewhrudjakpo urged all other aspirants to join hands with the winner to enable the party to win the July 16 governorship election in the state.
He also urged Adeleke to be magnanimous in victory.
Ewhrudjakpo said that there was no parallel congress in the state. According to him, any other congress, apart from the one he supervised will not be recognised by the party’s national working committee.
“The king is here and the crown is here. This is the authentic congress and any other one conducted in any other place will not be recognised,” he said.
In his acceptance speech, Adeleke said that there was no victor, no vanquished in the primary election.
“We are all winners. Let us work together to rescue the people of the state from the All Progressives Congress-led government.
“By God’s grace, the PDP will win the July 16 governorship election by a landslide to claim our stolen mandate. Our manifesto will be released in few days time,” he said.
At the WOCDIF Centre, Mr. Adelani Ajanaku, the Returning Officer in the parallel primary election, said that Babayemi scored 1,781 votes, while his closet rival, Adeleke scored 32 votes.
Ajanaku said that Fatai Akinbade scored 28 votes, Ogunbiyi (23 votes) and Omirin polled 16 votes, respectively. He also said that 1,907 votes were recorded, with 27 voided.
In his acceptance speech, Babayemi expressed his gratitude to all his brothers and co-contestants, who voluntarily allowed him to fly the party’s flag.
He said, “Your sacrifice is appreciated. Let me assure you that I will not let you down as your representative. I am, indeed, grateful to everyone for the confidence reposed in me, while making a solemn promise never to disappoint you. Today, I promise not to be the candidate of few, but a governorship candidate of all.”
While speaking on the parallel primaries, a leader of the party in the state, who was present at the primary where Adeleke was declared winner, Hon. Wole Oke, representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency of the state, said those that attended the WOCDIF primary are prominent leaders of the party, but he wondered why they behaved the way they did.
He said,“They have managed this process before. They have participated in this kind of process before. Is that the way and manner the primaries were conducted? Chief Oyinlola and Erelu Obada contested primary three times, two in Osun state and one in Abuja before they emerged as candidates of the party. . Was that the process they followed?
“The party published the names of delegates and sent officials from Abuja to conduct the primary and it took place in the stadium. Even a blind man can see which primary is authentic. I don’t even want to believe there was a parallel primary anywhere. We are operating a constitutional democracy, we have the constitution of the country and we have the constitution of the party. For God sake, some people should think of young Nigerians coming behind them
“There is something you cannot run away from and that is the rule of law. We just have to be by the side of the law. For me, a lawmaker and lawyer by training, I will always stand by the side of the law. Ultimately, if our leaders cannot come together and solve this matter, we will go the legal way and we will end it at the Supreme Court.”
On how the crisis may affect the fortune of the party in the forthcoming governorship election, Oke said, “Four months to the election, nobody is campaigning because of this distraction. I am totally disappointed at the way things are going. You have a sitting governor that you want to confront and you are fighting each other. Is that how to go about it?”
He urged the members and leaders of the party to give chance to peace, saying, “A candidate has emerged, let us work together and see how we can confront the ruling party”.
Analysts have expressed the opinion that the issue may lead to a court case that may affect the fortune of the party in the coming election, if the leaders fail to resolve the crisis on time.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
