Abdulazeez Adediran, ex-governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, says the party pulled the rug from underneath his feet on the eve of the state’s gubernatorial poll.
On Monday, Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, resigned from
the PDP, citing indiscipline and anti-party activities within the party.
Speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels
Television, on Tuesday, Jandor said save for the Peter Obi factor in Lagos, he
would have won the state’s governorship election.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in
the 2023 elections, won in Lagos, defeating Bola Tinubu, a former governor of
the state and the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The result is considered one of the biggest upsets from the
presidential election.
“I was disappointed by the PDP at the national level. Let me
tell you what happened on the eve of the election,” Jandor said.
“The state party chairman of PDP in Lagos state issued a
release speaking to a forced alliance that never happened and said that we had
withdrawn from the race. We had not withdrawn from the race.
“This was done to make sure that we did not go anywhere. And
it’s not about me. They did this to Musiliu Obanikoro, Jimi Agbaje (twice) and
Funsho Williams. It was not just about Jandor. What they did was not just
because it was Jandor. This has been their stock-in-trade.”
The politician said his campaign had gained strong momentum
before the election, but an unexpected shift in voter dynamics changed the
outcome.
“Before the February 25th general election, we were on the
streets of Lagos and the ruling party was nowhere to be found,” he added.
“We had several debates and he (Sanwo-Olu) didn’t show up
and didn’t want to share a stage with me.
“The 2023 election came with its dynamics, and it was a
two-horse race until the presidential election. If you look at what happened in
the presidential election, Peter Obi came first (in Lagos), Asiwaju came second,
and Atiku came third.
“The moment that happened, there was this belief that if we
do this, we can get this state off XYZ. So, we were victims of that.
“Each time I address my people, I tell them: look, we did
everything but that wave came and swallowed the whole thing; nobody saw that
coming.”
Jandor, however, said he would consider joining any of the
other political parties to realise his 2027 governorship dream.
“APC is one of the 17 (parties) that is left. A coalition is
coming in Nigeria. Other political parties are there. Labour Party is also an
option, it is part of the 17, SDP is also there,” he said.
“We have chosen this path; we are not deviating. It is only
God that can determine who and when. This is the path that we have chosen.”
Jandor finished third in the 2023 election with 62,449
votes, behind Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC who secured 762,134 votes. Gbadebo
Rhodes-Vivour of the LP garnered 312,329 votes.
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