The Ondo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) reaffirmed its position on Saturday that it will go into this weekend’s governorship election without the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) or compromising the candidature of its governorship flag bearer, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) with ZLP’s Agboola Ajayi.
The main opposition party, PDP disclosed that it was impossible for its candidate to step down for Ajayi.
This position was made known by the party the same day the African Democratic Congress (ADC) House of Representatives member from Ondo, Hon Abiola Makinde and the state Chairperson of the party, Chief Tokunbo Adetoro, switched camps to the ruling All Progressives Congress to support the re-election of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
In a similar development, the African Democratic Congress in Oyo State in last year’s election, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin advised 10 opposition parties in Ondo State to jettison their plan to team up with the PDP ahead of the Saturday election.
He warned the parties that they stood the risk of regretting their action if they failed to drop their plan.
The PDP publicity secretary, Mr. Kennedy Peretei while speaking against the background of reports of renewed alliance talks between the PDP and ZLP ahead of the elcetion said his party “has never sat down anywhere with anybody in the ZLP to discuss any merger plan, much less perceive any move or begging to make its governorship candidate step down.”
He described the reports as laughable.
The publicity secretary further stated that Jegede is not stepping down for any candidate.
He said: “How on earth can the duly elected governorship candidate of the PDP, the biggest political party in Africa, step down for the candidate of a bedroom political party formed in the heat of political harlotry? God forbid.
“While the PDP welcomes other political parties to join the winning team in dislodging the present locust regime under the APC and install a government of the people, the PDP has never changed its identity and name, and will never commit the sacrilege at the Ondo State level.
“Besides, the ZLP candidate, who is the current deputy governor of Ondo State, left the APC for the PDP, where he was magnanimously given a waiver to test his popularity by contesting for the PDP governorship ticket.
“He lost the primary election in a poll which he himself described as free and fair, and then, all of a sudden, ran away from the party barely two months as a member.
“The next thing was that he had been picked by a tiny party belonging to a political godfather, where he got his needed rehabilitation to become a governorship candidate.
“Ever since, we have known little or nothing about his affairs.”
The party similarly denied any meeting by any of it chieftains with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the Ondo State governorship election.
“If former Governor Segun Mimiko met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that did not in any way concern the PDP, as Mimiko is not a member of our party, and we had never been invited for any talk by the former President,” Peretei said.