The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state on Tuesday said the embattled Governor Olusegun Mimiko has begun to “beg” its factional National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, to accept the candidature of Eyitayo Jegede as flag bearer of the ruling party for the November 26th governorship election in the state.
Biyi Poroye, the State factional Chairman of the party disclosed this at a press briefing monitored by SaharaReporters in Akure on Monday.
Mr. Poroye who narrated how Mimiko took Mr. Jegede to Abuja and met with Sheriff further explained that the governor has been soliciting the assistance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept the senior lawyer as the candidate of the party.
He described the state congress that formed the delegates to produce Mr. Eyitayo Jegede as the candidate of the party as ‘nullity’ under the Clement Faboyede led State Executive Committee of the PDP which is also sympathetic to the Ahmed Makarfi led faction at the National Level.
“We were not surprised that Governor Olusegun Mimiko went down to Abuja to begged our National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, to accept his candidate [Eyitayo Jegede] as the true candidate of the party for the November 26th governorship election in the state”.
“Let me tell you, the congress that produced their candidate [Eyitayo Jegede] is in nullity and due to court injunction, the State Executive Committee [SEC] being led by Clement Faboyede under Ahmed Makarfi can’t parade himself as the authentic chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state”.
Mr. Poroye maintained that his faction got an order from the Federal High Court in Abuja, which date the 26th of June 2016, affirming him as the ‘authentic chairman’ of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state.
“So, it is stated clearly that any other person parading himself as the authentic chairman of the party in Ondo state is just wasting his time.
“The implication of this is that every other congress done by the Clement Faboye led State Executive Committee (SEC) is nullity and not recognized by the law” the factional chair added.
He further told the inquisitive journalists that the decision of the faction to move parallel primary to Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, was a decision made by the party’s National Working Committee [NWC].
According to him, the controversial businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, remained the governorship candidate of the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state.
Mr. Poroye, who has already set up an eleven-man committee in preparation for the take off of the campaign of the faction stressed that the Deputy Governorship candidate for Mr. Ibrahim who be announced in the near future.
