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Tag: primaries

  • Primaries: Ondo APC cautioned against altering delegate list

    Primaries: Ondo APC cautioned against altering delegate list

    Ahead of November 26 governorship election in Ondo State, some All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in the state yesterday called on its leadership to ensure that the present list of delegates must not be tampered with before the party’s primary election holding soon.

    The aspirants noted that electoral victory of any political party is “embedded in the successful management of several variables” particularly ensuring that personal interest, aspirations and agenda are not allowed to defeat collective interests.

    Chief Olusola Oke, Prince Derin Adesida and Hon. Victor Olabimtan, in a joint statement made available to journalists, said the overall success of the APC should be prioritised in thoughts and actions by all stakeholders.

    The statement read in part: “Today more than ever before, the APC is being perceived by the people in Ondo State, including its arch-rival, the PDP, as the party with the brightest chance to form the next government in the state because of the maladministration of the present government.

    “We are aware of agitations in some quarters for the composition of fresh congresses purportedly to create a level-playing ground for both old and new APC members, especially the aspirants and their teeming supporters”.

    The aspirants who are mainly former PDP leaders said the present executives (delegates)have been elected before they joined the APC but pointed out that having a newly constituted executives cum delegates would put them at advantage during the governorship primaries.

    However,they maintained that it was not in their character to pursue personal interest to the detriment of party interest, saying, “we should rejoice in our collective victory and not individual interest.”

    “As loyal party men, we believe in the unity and oneness of the party. Therefore, we will prefer the party making use of the present executives (delegates) for the forth coming primary election.”

    According to them, “we are convinced that such a step portends greater danger than any good to the party. At the moment, all aspirants should work with the present executives (delegates) to avoid unnecessary bottlenecks for the party.”

  • Bayelsa APC governorship primary ends in deadlock

    Bayelsa APC governorship primary ends in deadlock

    The governorship primary election of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, ended in deadlock on Tuesday.
    The exercise was marred by violence, thuggery, intimidation of some aspirants and meddlesomeness by some state party officials.
    The Chairman of the Electoral Committee and Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, was held hostage and was later smuggled out of the venue by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) and soldiers.
    It was gathered that the governor escaped the angry youths under the pretence that he was going to have his meal.
    Trouble started in the morning before 8am, when thugs, suspected cultists and ex-militants invaded the entrance of Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa, the venue of the exercise.
    The thugs hurled stones at delegates who lined up to be screened for the exercise creating chaos and panic in the area.
    The unruly crowd attacked the delegates and sent them running for their lives. Most of the delegates especially persons said to be loyal to the former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, could not return to the venue.
    The local government chairmen of the party in Sagbama, Ekeremor and Yenagoa, were reportedly attacked and wounded by the thugs.
    Over 1300 policemen led by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) were deployed in the venue to maintain the peace.
    Most of the delegates were shut out of the exercise and were not allowed access to the venue of the primary.
    The state Chairman of the party, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe, and some of his executive members were visibly angry at Alaibe and freely attacked him verbally.
    Alaibe maintained his cool as he uttered no word.
    When the accreditation of the delegates started, most persons who presented themselves for the exercise were said to be fake delegates in possession of cloned voter cards.
    The Master of the Ceremony (MC) announced that some persons with cloned cards had been arrested and handed over to the police.

  • Court fixes hearing in Ondo APC primaries’ suit

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has accepted to hear a suit challenging the outcome of the National Assembly primary held by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State.

    The plaintiff, a House of Representatives aspirant for the Odigbo/Ileoluji/Okeigbo Federal Constituency, Festus Ayodele Adefiranye, alleged that his name was substituted after he won the primary on December 7, last year.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole, after hearing an ex-parte application by the plaintiff, ordered that processes (court documents) in respect of the case be served on the defendants through substituted means.

    The defendants are Mrs. Yejide Ogundipe, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The plaintiff, in a motion on notice, asked the court to among others, uphold the result of the House of Representatives primary election of December 7, where he polled the highest number of votes cast and declare him the APC candidate.

    He asked the court to direct the party to forward his name to INEC as its candidate for the House of Representatives election in the constituency and order INEC to accept and publish his name as the party’s candidate for the election.

    Adefiranye also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC from accepting and publishing the name of the first defendant (Ogundipe) as the APC candidate for the election.

    He stated in a supporting affidavit that he emerged as the candidate of the party in the primaries with the highest votes of 191, while Ogundipe got 189, Emmanuel Adedeji 100 and Pius Akingba 13.

    Adefiranye said he was declared the winner by the Returning Officer, who also signed and gave him a copy of the result. He said the result was equally signed by the chairman and secretary of the Primaries Election Committee of the party as required.

    “After my declaration as the winner, I was congratulated by several persons, including the first defendant, Ogundipe, who congratulated me via a text message.

    “On December 13, I received a text message at 4.50pm that a petition had been written against me by the first defendant, consequent upon which I was required to appear before the Legislative Election Appeal Committee by 6pm of the same date.

    “I proceeded to appear before the Legislative Election Appeal Committee as directed where it was confirmed to me that the first defendant had written a petition against me, which was read to me and to which I was requested to respond. I requested to have a copy of the  petition as my copy, but I was denied,” Adefiranye said.

    Justice Kolawole fixed March 2 for the commencement of hearing.

  • Lagos PDP primaries defective, says Obanikoro

    Lagos PDP primaries defective, says Obanikoro

    • I went to court to protest injustice

    Former Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Senator Musiliu Obanikoro has reflected on the governorship primaries, insisting that the process was defective.

    The former Minister of State for Defence said he embraced reconciliation because the interest of the party is greater than the ambition of members. But, he said he went to court so that thye mistake will not be repeated in the future.

    Obanikoro spoke on a live television programme in Lagos on the flawed shadow poll, his rejection of the results and recourse to litigation to protest the injustice. He maintained that the number of votes were more than the number of accredited delegates, adding that the discrepancy dented the image of the chapter.

    Explaining why he went to court to protest the flawed process, he said: I fought against a process that was not transparent to make the necessary correction. I went to court to correct that. The number of votes was 867. The delegates were 806. Our vision is for a greater Lagos. We needed to clean up the process. Whatever we do today can serve as a precedent. We want those coming behind us to have a worthy legacy to emulate.

    “We went to court and the leadership of the party intervened. I can assure you. We are not going to have a repeat of that in Lagos State. We have taken this to the highest level of our party leadership. We will not have a repeat of this where figures will change without explanation.”

    Obanikoro, who said politicians must not sacrifice the collective interest of their parties on the alter of personal ambition, warned against the danger of faulty primaries.

    He said, for the first time in the history of the Lagos PDP, members did not defect to another party in protest because of the flawed primaries.

    The former minister, however, clarified between what he described as a process that is tainted and a process that is illegal. He said: “Can you build legally on an illegal land? When we say something is tainted, it does not mean that it is illegal. We can remember the election of George Bush and Al Gore in the Unites States. The Supreme Court said otherwise. The society is bigger than individuals. Look at the election of Kennedy and Richard Nixon. But, the leadership preserved the country for patriotic reasons.”

    The politician said a flawed primary cannot always be avoided because of human errors. He added: “There is no perfect condition of humanity. It is continuous. We must continue to find solution.”

    Obanikoro dismissed the rumour that he agreed to support the flag bearer, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, because he was promised a ministerial position. He said President Goodluck Jonathan reserved the right to determine the person that will become a minister.

    The former minister spoke on the challenge of next year’s election, stressing that the PDP can only win the battle, if it is united.

    He stressed: “To win Lagos, we must be united. We want a government that will constructively engage the Federal Government.”

    Obanikoro also highlighted conditions for a hitch-free elections, saying that post-electoral violence can be averted. He added: “The leadership on both sides must embrace peace and their body language must lead to that. We need peace and tranquility to move Nigeria forward.”

  • Lagos PDP primaries defective, says Obanikoro

    Lagos PDP primaries defective, says Obanikoro

    Former Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Senator Musiliu Obanikoro has reflected on the governorship primaries, insisting that the process was defective.

    The former Minister of State for Defence said he embraced reconciliation because the interest of the party is greater than the ambition of members. But, he said he went to court so that thye mistake will not be repeated in the future.

    Obanikoro spoke on a live television programme in Lagos on the flawed shadow poll, his rejection of the results and recourse to litigation to protest the injustice. He maintained that the number of votes were more than the number of accredited delegates, adding that the discrepancy dented the image of the chapter.

    Explaining why he went to court to protest the flawed process, he said: I fought against a process that was not transparent to make the necessary correction. I went to court to correct that. The number of votes was 867. The delegates were 806. Our vision is for a greater Lagos. We needed to clean up the process. Whatever we do today can serve as a precedent. We want those coming behind us to have a worthy legacy to emulate.

    “We went to court and the leadership of the party intervened. I can assure you. We are not going to have a repeat of that in Lagos State. We have taken this to the highest level of our party leadership. We will not have a repeat of this where figures will change without explanation.”

    Obanikoro, who said politicians must not sacrifice the collective interest of their parties on the alter of personal ambition, warned against the danger of faulty primaries.

    He said, for the first time in the history of the Lagos PDP, members did not defect to another party in protest because of the flawed primaries.

    The former minister, however, clarified between what he described as a process that is tainted and a process that is illegal. He said: “Can you build legally on an illegal land? When we say something is tainted, it does not mean that it is illegal. We can remember the election of George Bush and Al Gore in the Unites States. The Supreme Court said otherwise. The society is bigger than individuals. Look at the election of Kennedy and Richard Nixon. But, the leadership preserved the country for patriotic reasons.”

    The politician said a flawed primary cannot always be avoided because of human errors. He added: “There is no perfect condition of humanity. It is continuous. We must continue to find solution.”

    Obanikoro dismissed the rumour that he agreed to support the flag bearer, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, because he was promised a ministerial position. He said President Goodluck Jonathan reserved the right to determine the person that will become a minister.

    The former minister spoke on the challenge of next year’s election, stressing that the PDP can only win the battle, if it is united.

    He stressed: “To win Lagos, we must be united. We want a government that will constructively engage the Federal Government.”

    Obanikoro also highlighted conditions for a hitch-free elections, saying that post-electoral violence can be averted. He added: “The leadership on both sides must embrace peace and their body language must lead to that. We need peace and tranquility to move Nigeria forward.”

  • The PDP magic called primaries

    SIR: That the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be fast losing focus is no longer in dispute. Indeed the media is awash with reports of the legion of self- inflicted vicissitudes that have become the lot of the PDP, which if not properly managed could lead to its defeat in the 2015 elections.

    The biggest challenge the PDP has is its lack of respect for the rudimentary principle of internal democracy. It will appear that the leadership of the party does not believe in internal democracy and does not even pretend about it. From day one that the party started the process for the just concluded primaries, it was clear that respect for internal democracy was not part of the essential ingredients of the process.

    The election of the Ward ad-hoc delegates, in virtually all the states of the federation, was a clear mockery of democracy. It is doubtful that any of the delegates was actually elected. Strong leaders, favoured by the party leadership wrote the list of the delegates and sponsored it through the National Headquarters. The turmoil in the primaries proper was only to be expected.

    A typical sample of where not to emulate the PDP is Imo State. During the Ward ad-hoc delegate congress, those who believed they were strong enough, and favoured by the PDP National leadership successfully shut out Senator Ifeanyi Arararume from having even one delegate, not even in his own Ward. This governorship aspirant therefore went to the governorship primaries

    without one delegate put by him. In spite of this obvious drawback, he remained undaunted, braved all the odds and reached out to the delegates and appealed to their consciences. Election day came on December 8. The Electoral panel announced to the hearing of all present that 1064 delegates had been accredited to vote in the primaries.

    At the end of voting, total votes cast were counted openly and announced as 1017. The counting peaked with Ikedi Ohakim, the third runner up, whose votes were counted and announced as 213. The next was Arararume. His votes were counted and they came to 336. By this time, the votes of 27 aspirants had been counted and it came to 681. The only aspirant left to be counted was Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. Going by the total valid votes cast and the total votes scored by 27 of the 28 aspirants, that is 681, it became obvious that Arararume had won the primaries. This is so because when you subtract 681 from 1006 valid votes cast, Ihedioha would have scored 325 votes. But the electoral panel, to the chagrin of all, announced 446 votes for him.

    In my view, this is the biggest challenge the PDP is facing and how it is resolved will go a long way in deciding the fate of the party in Imo State. Surprisingly, the National Party leadership has remained mute on this issue, even some of those who have commented on the matter, including a group of Imo PDP Elders, have refused to address the crux of the matter.

    And that crux is: was it 1006 votes that were declared by the electoral panel as votes validly cast? If that is so, and it is because the panel announced that publicly, how come then that after 27 aspirants scored 681 votes, the last aspirant who should have 325 votes now had 346 votes?

    Even while the Imo case is peculiar, the crisis in PDP is widespread. The rumour making the rounds is that a ticket from the flawed primaries is not any guarantee of a PDP flag for 2015 election. Stories abound that the tickets are up for grabs to highest bidders in Abuja. And not a few are wondering why the party ever bothered with having primaries.

    Perhaps the PDP is sitting supine, unmoved, because it is in power and believes it can always fix things. But they must hear this truth; the biggest gain of our 15 years of democracy is that elections are becoming increasingly impossible to rig. Gone are the days when a PDP ticket is automatic victory in the polls.

    • Hon. Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba,

    Owerri, Imo State

  • Chaos in Delta PDP over primaries, name substitution

    Chaos in Delta PDP over primaries, name substitution

    The Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in disarray over the outcome of primaries for various offices, including the National and state assemblies.

    The choice of a running mate for the party’s governorship flag bearer, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, is also generating frictions among key players.

    It was learnt that the deputy governorship slot had been ceded to the Ijaw. This allegedly angered Isoko over their perceived relegation in the party’s affairs, particularly as the Ijaw had also got the senatorial slot through Senator James Manager.

    In Delta Central, the Urhobo are unhappy about the alleged directive of President Goodluck Jonathan that delegates should deliver Okowa, from Delta North, against Chief David Edevbia, who was Urhobo’s choice.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that although the primaries are over, winners are still anxious because of ongoing substitution of names by PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC).

    It was gathered that the ticket of a candidate for the House of Representatives in Delta North had been “awarded” to one of the losers in the governorship primary, even though the beneficiary did not contest the December 6 primary.

    Also, it was learnt that House of Assembly Speaker Victor Ochei was angling for a senatorial seat as compensation, after coming third in the governorship primary.

    The December 9 contest for the Delta North senatorial ticket of the party was thrown into controversy, following the invasion of the venue by thugs allegedly working for one of the aspirants.

    A former PDP chairman in the state, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, who was the clear leader from the results of seven of the nine local government areas counted before the imbroglio, declared himself winner of the contest.

    He had warned that he would be forced to consider his “options” following alleged undue interference of the NWC and the national leadership of the PDP, which reportedly preferred Mrs Marian Ali, wife of the party’s former National Chairman, Dr Ahmadu Ali.

    Worried by the development, a leader of the party from the Delta Central Senatorial District and a former minister, who spoke in confidence, told our correspondent that there were concerns that the party could go into the next election in disarray.

    He said: “The cohesion and unity we have seen in Delta PDP over the past few years is now in tatters. We are in complete confusion, and this can play into the hands of the opposition in the presidential and other elections in the state.”

  • Primaries: Elected APC members in Benue get return tickets

    All Progressive Congress ( APC) in Benue state has given tickets to all their elected members as a deliberate effort at strengthening the party and winning elections in 2015.

    Speaking in a telephone interview with The Nation, the indisputable leader of APC  in Benue state, Senator George Akume said, with the primaries over and all issues arising resolved amicable , APC is poised to send Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) packing from Government House Makurdi in next year election.

    The former governor of Benue state stated further that giving tickets to elected APC candidates has strengthen the party and will win more seats in both state and National Assembly, before crowning it with Chief Samuel Ortom as the governor in 2015.

    APC elected members who got their tickets back to contest in 2015 are Senator George Akume, for Benue north west senatorial seat, Hon Herman Hembe of Jechira Federal constituency and Hon John Dyeh, Gboko/ Tarka federal constituency.

    Others are Barrister Benjamin Adanyi, House of Assembly member  Makurdi south and Hon Avine Agbom of  Makurdi north state assembly representatives.

  • Tension in Kwara PDP over primaries

    Tension in Kwara PDP over primaries

    There was heavy security presence at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as executives of the party met this week to discuss the botched primary in the state.

    About 20 anti-riot policemen mounted sentry at the entrance of the party’s secretariat, along Asa Dam Road in the metropolis.

    But, the party’s spokesperson  Chief Rex Olawoye, said the presence of security men was to ward off  hoodlums ‘who might want to protest the loss by their principal’.

    Olawoye said there was no crisis within the party, but he added that fears were expressed in some quarters that the national secretariat of the PDP might upturn the result of the primaries which produced Senator Simon Ajibola as governorship candidate.

    The police presence might have been used to prevent a protest march to the secretariat by supporters of Ajibola, who may want to counter the one carried out on Saturday evening by some members of the party against his emergence as the PDP flag bearer for next year’s governorship elections.

    The earlier protest was believed to have been sponsored by some aggrieved stakeholders in the party to give the impression that Ajibola is an unsellable candidate for the party. The aggrieved leaders were said to have allegedly undertaken several moves to rework the outcome of the primaries in favour of their candidate.

    He said: “We have an executive meeting today to appraise the outcome of the primary so that we can take position on issues and you know some hoodlums could come  to demonstrate as reaction to the loss by their principal. So, that’s why we asked the police to come and be here to keep them at bay. We need to meet to review things.”

    On the probable modification of the outcome of the primary, Olawoye said: “When you have a primary like this, the national body still has the final say. You remember when Rotimi Amaechi won the primary and his name was substituted with that of Celestine Omehia, he went to court to challenge it. Fortunately, he won and was given the mandate, without contesting in the election. This is politics and anything can happen. But, for anyone to say he doesn’t know Ajibola is a lie. He has represented Kwara South for 12 years and he has done well for us and we know him very well.”

    The  Freedom Group expressed similar fears, warning against any planned substitution of Ajibola’s name with that of another candidate. It dismissed the religious arguments being allegedly raised against the candidature of Ajibola.

    In a statement, the group’s spokesperson, Tajudeen Kareem said, “We wish that, in the interest of democracy, freedom of choice and peace in our   party, nothing is done to tamper with Senator Ajibola’s mandate. Any attempt to manipulate the outcome of the governorship election supervised by Governor Gabriel Suswam is a recipe for electoral disaster for the PDP in Kwara State.”

    Alhaji Kareem added: “We testify to the fact that the governorship primary election was conducted in adherence to due process, transparency and in conformity with the guidelines and regulations of the PDP. That anyone or group of persons are uncomfortable with its outcome is myopic, divisive and undemocratic. It flies in the face of logic and the facts on the ground in Kwara State.

    “When has religion become the basis for political representation in Kwara State? The advocates of anti-Ajibola candidacy are disingenuous. Their antics have exposed them as a bunch pursuing selfish interests and not the interest of our people. If Ajibola is a Christian so what?  All three candidates who recently won tickets to contest senatorial seats on the platform of the PDP are Muslims: Alhaji Yinka Aluko, Central; Alhaji Yinusa Yahaya, North; Arc. Lola Ashiru, South.

    “As a matter of fact, of the six candidates chosen by delegates for the House of Representatives election, only one, Mr. Richard Babatunde (Oke-Ero, Isin, Ekiti and Irepodun constituency) is a Christian. The rest are Muslims. Going further, the same PDP delegates had earlier elected 24 of their members to contest election to the House of Assembly. Of the lot, only six are Christians. They are-Enoch Omokanye (Odo-Ogun in Oyun), Henry Olatunde (Omupo in Ifelodun), Ben Duntoye (Irepodun), Olu Adeoti (Oke-Ero), Segun Bamidele (Ekiti) and Sunday Adedoyin( Isin).

    “The Freedom Group is comfortable with the emergence of Senator Ajibola. That is the collective wish of the PDP members who earlier elected delegates to represent them. His emergence has put a lie to the face of those who tried to hoodwink the delegates that the Presidency in Abuja had anointed a candidate.”

    Also, in a statement on behalf of other aspirants, Deacon John Dara accepted the emergence of Ajibola as the PDP candidate and asked the party’s leadership to immediately set up a reconciliation committee to bring aggrieved members of the PDP on board to ensure victory for the party in 2015.

    He said the aspirants met in the house of Professor Shuiab AbdulRaheem last Sunday and reached agreement on the issue.

    The four-paragraph statement however did not give a list of those who attended the meeting. But, it was gathered that Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN) was not in attendance.  The statement asked Ajibola to also commence efforts to placate aggrieved members and form an inclusive campaign structure to effectively mobilise party members and the general public for the coming elections.

  • Tension as Kwara PDP leaders contemplate fall out of primaries

    Tension as Kwara PDP leaders contemplate fall out of primaries

    There was heavy security presence at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as executives of the party met this week to discuss the botched primary in the state.

    About 20 anti-riot policemen mounted sentry at the entrance of the party’s secretariat, along Asa Dam Road in the metropolis.

    But, the party’s spokesperson in the state, Chief Rex Olawoye, said the presence of security men was to ward off  hoodlums ‘who might want to protest the loss by their principal’.

    Olawoye said there was no crisis within the party, but he added that fears were expressed in some quarters that the national secretariat of the PDP might upturn the result of the primaries which produced Senator Simon Ajibola as governorship candidate.

    But, it was also gathered that the police presence might have been used to prevent a protest march to the secretariat by supporters of Ajibola, who may want to counter the one carried out on Saturday evening by some members of the party against his emergence as the PDP flag bearer for next year’s governorship elections.

    The earlier protest was believed to have been sponsored by some aggrieved stakeholders in the party to give the impression that Ajibola is an unsellable candidate for the party. The aggrieved leaders were said to have allegedly undertaken several moves to rework the outcome of the primaries in favour of their candidate.

    He said: “We have an executive meeting today to appraise the outcome of the primary so that we can take position on issues and you know some hoodlums could come  to demonstrate as reaction to the loss by their principal. So, that’s why we asked the police to come and be here to keep them at bay. We need to meet to review things.”

    On the probable modification of the outcome of the primary, Olawoye said: “When you have a primary like this, the national body still has the final say. You remember when Rotimi Amaechi won the primary and his name was substituted with that of Celestine Omehia, he went to court to challenge it. Fortunately, he won and was given the mandate, without contesting in the election. This is politics and anything can happen. But, for anyone to say he doesn’t know Ajibola is a lie. He has represented Kwara South for 12 years and he has done well for us and we know him very well.”

    The camp of the Freedom Group within the party expressed similar fears, warning against any planned substitution of Ajibola’s name with that of another candidate. It dismissed the religious arguments being allegedly raised against the candidature of Ajibola.

    In a statement, the group’s spokesperson, Tajudeen Kareem said, “We wish that, in the interest of democracy, freedom of choice and peace in our   party, nothing is done to tamper with Senator Ajibola’s mandate. Any attempt to manipulate the outcome of the governorship election supervised by Governor Gabriel Suswam is a recipe for electoral disaster for the PDP in Kwara State.”

    Alhaji Kareem added: “We testify to the fact that the governorship primary election was conducted in adherence to due process, transparency and in conformity with the guidelines and regulations of the PDP. That anyone or group of persons are uncomfortable with its outcome is myopic, divisive and undemocratic. It flies in the face of logic and the facts on the ground in Kwara State.

    “When has religion become the basis for political representation in Kwara State? The advocates of anti-Ajibola candidacy are disingenuous. Their antics have exposed them as a bunch pursuing selfish interests and not the interest of our people. If Ajibola is a Christian so what?  All three candidates who recently won tickets to contest senatorial seats on the platform of the PDP are Muslims: Alhaji Yinka Aluko, Central; Alhaji Yinusa Yahaya, North; Arc. Lola Ashiru, South.

    “As a matter of fact, of the six candidates chosen by delegates for the House of Representatives election, only one, Mr. Richard Babatunde (Oke-Ero, Isin, Ekiti and Irepodun constituency) is a Christian. The rest are Muslims. Going further, the same PDP delegates had earlier elected 24 of their members to contest election to the House of Assembly. Of the lot, only six are Christians. They are-Enoch Omokanye (Odo-Ogun in Oyun), Henry Olatunde (Omupo in Ifelodun), Ben Duntoye (Irepodun), Olu Adeoti (Oke-Ero), Segun Bamidele (Ekiti) and Sunday Adedoyin( Isin).

    “The Freedom Group is comfortable with the emergence of Senator Ajibola. That is the collective wish of PDP members who earlier elected delegates to represent them. His emergence has put a lie to the face of those who tried to hoodwink the delegates that the Presidency in Abuja had anointed a candidate.”

    Also, in a statement on behalf of other aspirants, Deacon Johna Dara accepted the emergence of Ajibola as the PDP candidate and asked the party’s leadership to immediately set up a reconciliation committee to bring aggrieved members of the party on board to ensure victory for the party in 2015.

    He said the aspirants met in the house of Professor Shuiab AbdulRaheem on Sunday night and reached agreement on the issue.

    The four-paragraph statement however did not give a list of those who attended the meeting but it was gathered that Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN) was not in attendance.  The statement asked Ajibola to also commence efforts to placate aggrieved members and form an inclusive campaign structure to effectively mobilise PDP members and the general public for the coming elections.