The Peoples Democratic Party has announced its support for the Accord Party governorship candidate and incumbent governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The decision came shortly after the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja upheld the nomination of Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola as the governorship candidate of the PDP faction led by Kabiru Turaki and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to include the party’s logo on the ballot for the August 15 election.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party said the appellate court held that its primary election was duly conducted and monitored by INEC, with the winner’s name subsequently forwarded to the commission.
According to the party, the court also ruled that the access code required for uploading the nomination on INEC’s portal was merely an administrative requirement and could not override the statutory provision governing the submission of candidates’ names.
The PDP described the judgment as a vindication of its position but expressed concern that the late resolution of the legal dispute had left its candidate with insufficient time to campaign for the election.
The party accused INEC of bias against its leadership and alleged that the commission had refused to recognise its candidate despite monitoring the primary election and had withheld the codes required for the submission of candidates’ details.
The PDP said the situation had placed the party in a difficult position, adding that the circumstances made it impracticable for its candidate to effectively participate in the Saturday poll.
Consequently, the Interim National Working Committee said it had, after consultations with key stakeholders, resolved to support Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
The party described Adeleke as a former member of the PDP who left the party following what it called a “state-engineered and funded leadership conflict.”
The PDP urged its members across Osun State to vote for Adeleke during the election, defend their votes and ensure that their ballots count.
The opposition party also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of adopting a “do or die” approach to elections and urged Nigerians to resist any attempt to manipulate the electoral process.
It maintained that elections must reflect the freely expressed wishes of the electorate, warning that anything short of that would amount to a denial of the people’s democratic rights.
