Former Director of Ladi Adebutu Democratic Organisation, Hon. Waliu Taiwo has said the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) did not have a governorship candidate in the 2019 general election in Ogun State.
Taiwo, a chieftain of the PDP said, “as far as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP is concerned, the party had no Guber candidate in Ogun State.”
According to him, it was the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that recognised Sen. Buruji Kashamu, while the party wanted a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ladi Adebutu.
In the build-up to the 2019 governorship election in Ogun, the duo of Kashamu and Adebutu had conducted parallel primary elections to emerge candidates of the PDP.
Adebutu had the backing of the PDP NWC to emerge a factional governorship candidate for Ogun State.
However, Kashamu was favoured by different court rulings that declared him the authentic candidate of the PDP.
This development tore the party apart from as different factions backed candidates from other political parties.
There were rumours making the rounds that Kashamu himself ordered his followers behind closed doors to support Gov Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, Taiwo, when asked why he worked for Abiodun instead of the PDP, in an interview, said, “The party had no (governorship) candidate in Ogun because as far as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP was concerned the party had no candidate in the election.
“The NWC wanted Hon. Ladi Adebutu, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised Senator Kashamu Buruji as the PDP governorship candidate for the state. As a loyal party man, the party did not recognise Kashamu so we have the right to support somebody else.”
Taiwo faulted claims that he betrayed Adebutu when he said:
“What is betrayal, I don’t understand. My duty was to make Hon. Ladi Adebutu the next governor of Ogun State, but when this was not possible I had to go somewhere else.
“Where I go next is nobody’s business, Ladi did not contest. How can anybody say I betrayed him? If he had contested and I leave then you can accuse me of that.
“Even if he contested and I leave, you cannot blame me. Politics is about interest if I am here and I discovered that my interest is no longer there I have right to go somewhere else. There is freedom of association.
“Some people in the PDP led by Hon. Ladi Adebutu voted for the APM, while some people in the PDP led by former Governor Gbenga Daniel supported the APC.”
