Osun election: PDP governors, Atiku abandon Adeleke

Governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have abandoned Ademola Adeleke, their candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.

This is just as only two out of the 13 governors of the party were present at the inauguration of the party’s campaign council for Osun State governorship election.

Although all the governors were listed as members of the campaign council, only Governors Okowa and Ishaku Darius of Taraba State attended the event held yesterday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

National chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, were also absent, but their absence was however unavoidable, as Atiku is currently in Dubai where he had travelled to some days earlier, while Ayu is on a two-week vacation.

The absence of the PDP governors comes amid concerns about frictions within the party over the way the choice of the presidential running mate was handled.

Atiku had settled for Delta State governor Sen Ifeanyi Okowa despite Wike’s emergence as the candidate of a 17-member advisory committee.

Although efforts are being made to appease Wike over the matter, the Rivers State governor, who is in Turkey for vacation with his Abia State counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu, has played host to leaders of opposition parties, fueling insinuations that he might dump PDP.

While Benue State governor Samuel Ortom was a guest on Arise TV from his state, other governors who were absent didn’t give any explanation for their absence.

Speaking at the inauguration, Okowa who admitted that there was so much work to be done ahead of the Osun election, said, “Osun state obviously is a PDP state. We have great leaders who have a very clear understanding of the politics in those states.

“I want to urge all our leaders and our followers in the state to please quickly bridge the gaps of divide that is amongst us, because victory stares us right in the face, God has gone ahead of us. It is for us to follow the wish of God and to deliver the state to the PDP.

“There is a lot of work to be done. It is not a fun fare, And I believe that the membership of the campaign counselors inaugurated today are capable enough to truly go out there to deliver the state to the PDP

‘’I want to make an appeal to the campaign Council. It’s not about been inaugurated in Abuja. The work to be done is in Osun state.

“And I want to plead with them to ensure that they go out there to Osun state, work with the leadership of the party and work with the candidate of the party to ensure that everything is put in place to deliver the PDP in that election.

“From the information that we have, the APC is already in disarray in the state but that is not enough for us to go to sleep,” he said.