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A governorship aspirant under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, in Ondo state, Engineer Adeolu Akinwumi, has rejected the adoption of a consensus candidate by some leaders of the party in the state ahead of next months primary election.
Akinwumi, who was the first to obtain his nomination form from the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, said in Akure on Sunday that all the aspirants should subject themselves to the primary election.
Speaking at the party’s secretariat in Akure, after collecting his expression of interest form, said that the PDP “is a party with constitution whose rules and guidelines must be followed when it comes to selecting the flagbearer of the party.
Asked to comment on the party’s decision to adopt a consensus candidate for the primary election, Akinwunmi said that “the word consensus itself means agreeable to by all, for the fact that I have gone ahead to pick the nomination form does not shut the window of any other person picking the form.
” If I am part of the consensus arrangement, I won’t be picking the form, I would have waited for the eventual outcome of the party’s (arrangement).
“I have made it very clear right from day one that I would not be a party to any consensus adoption because the party constitution is very clear, PDP is a party that has well documented guidelines and its a party that is govern by Constitution.
“It is the Constitution of the party that detect the mode of primary, the party guidelines stipulate that it is going to be an indirect form of primary election which means that we are going to have congresses to elect delegates that will eventually vote and determine who the party candidate will be.”
Akinwumi, also pointed out that the party National Working Committee, had ruled on the issue of zoning and that all the aspirants are free to obtain nomination form.
“We had a stakeholders meeting with the National Working Committee and they made it clear that on the issue of zoning, no official position has been taken so far and that everyone is free to pick the form which I have done.
” If they decide to zone it out, the national committee that gave me the form won’t have given me, that tells you that there is nothing like zoning.
The aspirant therefore advised the leaders of the party to be fair to all aspirants and give all aspirants a platform to contest fairly and justly.
Speaking earlier, the state Chairman of the party, Hon Tola Alabere, was optimistic that the PDP would win the November governorship election in the state.
Alabere said that the people of the state are fed up with the misrule of the ruling government both at the state level and the national.
He appealed to the people of the state not to allow vote buying during the election noting that the APC has nothing to offer Nigerians.
According to him “It is time for PDP to take over, prayers alone is not enough, we must work, the idea of collecting money during election should be stopped if we want things to change for better. The APC has nothing to offer Nigerians it’s time to kick them out.
Alabere said that “This is the best time for the PDP to win. Consider your efforts when voting on election day. Let us resolve to work for the PDP, and we shall win by the Special grace of God”.
