May 25, (THEWILL) – The crisis rocking the Ogun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday, took another dimension, when some candidates of the party threatened to go to court if denied their mandates by the leadership of the party in the just concluded primary election in the state.
The candidates, who said that the venues where they observed their primary election was approved by the party’s state chairman, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, insisted that they would head to the court if their mandates were not given to them
Their grievances follow a news report that some members of the party, now allegedly parading themselves as the rightful candidates of their constituencies, held a parallel primary elections at the party’s secretariat at night.
They include: Dada Oduntan for Ogun Central Senatorial District; Solomon Enilolobo for Abeokuta South Constituency 1; Olawale Soyode for Ifo, Eweloro Federal Constituency; Samuel Abiodun for Obafemi Owode Federal Constituency; Makanjuola Kazeem for Ewokoro and Akeem Amosun for Abeokuta South Federal Constituency.
Speaking on behalf of the candidates in Abeokuta, Hon. Samuel Abiodun, accused one of the party’s gubernatorial aspirants, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, of hijacking the party’s leadership from Ogundele, while demanding their mandates as the authentic candidates for their constituencies.
He stressed that the party wrote the Independent National Electoral Commission of their venues for the election which are: Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Centenary Hall, Ake and Ijeja Town Hall, where they held their primary election last Sunday and won.
Abiodun noted that things started to fall apart when some people held their parallel primary election at a venue not recognised by INEC or had the presence of the senatorial district chairman, Hon Taiwo Akinlabi and others designated to monitor the primary election
He said, “We held our primary on Sunday and were surprised when we heard in the news that some people were parading themselves as the candidates who won the primaries from our constituencies.
“The state secretariat wrote to INEC that the venues for the senatorial, house of rep election for OOPL, the venue for constituency 1, was century hall Ake, and the venue for constituency was Ijeja Town Hall.
“We are now running a Ladi Adebutu PDP not really PDP now in Ogun State. We are going to court if they are not giving us our mandate we are going to court and the court will settle the matter for us.
“The duty of the state chairman has been hijacked by Ladi Adebutu, that is the truth of the matter, because he (Ogundele) is not doing what he supposed to do at the right time before any election.
“He is supposed to call the aspirants together and introduce those who are coming from Abuja to monitor the election, he did not before any election and he is supposed to bring the ad-hoc delegates list before any election, the position of our chairman has been hijacked by Hon. Ladi Adebutu.
“This is a later signed by Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele. This letter gave the venues for the delegates election. Things fell apart from the three adhoc -delegates, that was where some other people held their parallel congress, that parallel congress was not known to INEC. This is INEC’s monitor congress that produced this delegates”, he added.
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