There are strong indications that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s camp of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has finally lost out in the power game in the state.
The party,it was learnt last night, has given the Independent National Electoral Commission’s forms to all the candidates produced by the opposing camp headed by Governor Gbenga Daniel.
It was further gathered that Mr Obasanjo met with President Jonathan earlier this week to ask him to intervene but that the president reportedly said he could not do so for obvious reasons.
Two parallel primaries were recently held by the camps in Ogun State during which different candidates were elected.While the Daniel’s camp produced Gboyega Isiaka as the governorship candidate, the other camp led by the Commerce and Industry minister, Jubril Martins-Kuye and supported by Mr Obasanjo produced Tunji Olurin, a former military governor of Oyo State.
Similarly,the Obasanjo’s camp produced his daughter, Iyabo as the senatorial candidate for Ogun Central senatorial district while the governor’s camp produced Lola Abiola-Edewor, daughter of the late winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Moshood Abiola.
However, the PDP National Organising secretary, Uche Secondus yesterday issued the INEC forms to Mr Isiaka and the other candidates in his camp, thereby ruling those in Mr Obasanjo’s camp out of the elections.
The former president was said to have met with Mr Jonathan to plead with him to intervene so that Mr Olurin and Ms Iyabo Obasanjo could be recognised by the party as the state governorship candidate of the party and Ogun Central district candidate.
A source stated that following the refusal of the president to intervene, the group loyal to Mr Obasanjo, went to court to restrain the party from recognising candidates produced by the Daniel’s faction.The court injunction was said to have been served on the party’s national legal adviser,
Olusola Oke on Wednesday night. All efforts to speak with Mr Oke yesterday failed.Late last year, Mr Obasanjo had stormed the national secretariat of PDP to complain about the plot to exclude Ms Iyabo from the race following the conduct of two primaries.
Mr Isiaka,the governorship candidate had arrived the party’s national secretariat at about 12.35pm yesterday in an ash coloured Mercedes Benz Jeep to pick the nomination forms.It was learnt that the governorship candidate did not only collect his own form,he also collected that of the Ogun State commissioner for Works, Adesegun Adekoya who won the PDP primaries for Ijebu North/Ijebu South/Ogun Waterside federal constituency in the House of Representatives.
Semiu Sodipo, the acting secretary of the Martins-Kuye’s camp, had told journalists after the conduct of the primaries that they had not been enjoying good patronage from the national secretariat of the party.
“Whether somebody is here or not from the national body, at the appropriate time we believe the PDP is a party that believes in the Rule of Law and we will at last be vindicated.” Meanwhile,it was gathered that the National Working Committee (NWC) may have cancelled primary elections in 10 senatorial districts and 14 federal constituencies.The list of the districts and constituencies could not be immediately obtained last night.
Findings also revealed that the re-run elections for the Senate would take place in 10 senatorial districts Delta central, Oyo central,
Sokoto east, Bauchi North, Taraba Centarl, Adamawa South, Adamawa North, Kogi Central, Kogi East and Kogi West.
For the party House of Representatives candidates, the exercise would take place in the Federal Constituency, Bama/Ngala/Kalbalge of Borno, Dala, Kumbotso and Gwale of Kano State, Adavi/Okeh, Dekina/Bassa Kogi state, Uyo and Eket/Ibero in Akwa-Ibom state, Bauchi Central, Bauchi State , Ideato North/Ideato South, Imo State, Gashaka Kumi/ Sardauna Taraba, Bida/Gbako Katchina, Niger State,Boripe/Ifelodun/ Odo-otin, Osun State and Sagbama/Ekeremo Bayelsa state.
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