The controversy surrounding the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State is unending as the two factions of the party, which held separate congresses, claimed to have picked the nomination forms of the Independent National Electoral Commission for those they elected.
In effect, the PDP headquarters may face a Herculean task in determining the authentic governorship, as well as other candidates of the party in the state in the April elections.
Reports had indicated that the candidates elected at the congress of a faction of the party loyal to Governor Gbenga Daniel were contacted to pick the INEC nomination forms on Thursday, with Alhaji Gboyega Isiaka picking the form as the Ogun PDP governorship candidate.
But the governorship candidate elected at the congress loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Maj.-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd.), also claimed on Friday that he had picked and filled the INEC nomination form at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja.
The protracted crisis in the state PDP had compelled the feuding parties to elect different candidates from parallel congresses for the state and national elections. They also filed the names of their representatives to the national office of the PDP.
While the faction loyal to Daniel is led by Chief Joju Fadairo, the parallel exco is led by Chief Dayo Soremi, with the active support of Obasanjo and the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye.
While the faction loyal to Obasanjo conducted its primaries at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Daniel faction conducted its own at the MKO Abiola Stadium, both in Abeokuta.
Soremi is regarded as the chairman of the ‘Harmonised state executive,’ with none of the members representing the Fadairo executive, after the latter was reportedly dissolved by the National Working Committee of the PDP under the sacked chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo.
In an interview with SATURDAY PUNCH on the telephone on Friday, Olurin said he was the first to pick the form, saying his “opponent rushed down” to Abuja when he learnt that he (Olurin) had collected the INEC form.
The former military governor of Oyo State said that Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and others, who emerged victorious at the Soremi-led primaries, had also picked their INEC forms.
Olurin, who sounded confident about his chances in the emerging power play in the state, said the headquarters of the party would decide on the “authentic candidate” of the party on Monday when it is expected to forward the name of its candidate to INEC.
He said, “I’ve picked my form. There is no big deal about that. In fact, I’ve filled it and it is on its way to Abuja today (Friday). Yes, I didn’t come physically to pick it, but it was picked by the leader of my group for all of us that emerged winners at the primaries. By the grace of God, the form will get to the party headquarters either today or by Saturday.”
Fadairo, however, declared on Friday that the candidates elected during the primaries conducted under his watch were the only candidates issued with the INEC nomination forms.
He said, “To the best of my knowledge, only (Gboyega) Isiaka and (Lola) Abiola-Edewor (Ogun Central Senatorial candidate) collected the INEC nomination forms for the respective posts from the national headquarters in Abuja yesterday.
“The national party called me that the forms were ready. I informed the respective candidates, including the other senatorial candidates, the nine House of Reps candidates and the state House of Assembly candidates, and they went to Abuja to collect the INEC forms. There is no confusion there. It is very clear.”
Soremi described the reported issuance of the INEC nomination forms to the candidates elected at the congress organised by the Fadairo-led executive as “untrue.”
In a statement on Friday, he contended that an injunction obtained by the parallel body from a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday had made the congress under the “dissolved Fadairo-led executive a nullity.”
He said, “We affirm that this can’t be true as our great party respects the rule of law and won’t be part of a sinister plot to enthrone impunity as a way of life in conducting the affairs of the PDP.
“To be sure, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has already stopped whatever charade the Joju Fadairo-led dissolved executive committee did in terms of congresses/primaries. Both the PDP National Secretariat and INEC were restrained from relating with the illegal Fadairo group.
“The order of the Federal High Court has been served on both INEC and the PDP National Secretariat.”
Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had, on Wednesday, restrained INEC and the PDP from validating the results of the governorship primaries conducted by the Daniel camp.
Kafarati gave the order following an ex-parte application by Olurin, Chief Babatunde Fadun, Mr. Dave Salako, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye, Mr. Wale Solaja and Seun Adesanya.
He further restrained INEC and the PDP from making any pronouncement validating the results of the primaries conducted by the Fadairo-led executive, pending the determination of the originating summons.
The judge directed the electoral commission and the party to accept the results of the governorship primaries by the plaintiffs, according to their prayers.
Olurin believed that since the headquarters of the party was in court when the order was given, it would have no excuse not to obey it.
He said, “The Daniel group just wants to create confusion because the people there (PDP national headquarters) are aware of the court order, which forbids them from presenting any candidate for the elections.
“The leadership of the party is aware of the court order, so it either vacates the order or follows the rule of law by having nothing to do with the other group as ordered by the court. I know that we have a responsible party leadership who obeys the rule of law. I won the party governorship primaries and that is why I am also confident.”
Olurin, the former Sole Administrator of Ekiti State during the state of emergency in the Obasanjo Administration, added that (Senator Iyabo) Obasanjo-Bello and other candidates in the Fadairo faction had picked their INEC nomination forms.
“All of them, including Iyabo, have collected their forms and I can assure you that we’re confident that we would make it,” he added.
He said since the party was yet to come out openly that it had picked any candidate, it was wrong to assume that the candidates in his group had been dumped.
Soremi reasoned that the PDP had demonstrated its respect for the rule of law as the pronouncement of a State High Court was enough to sack the immediate past chairman of the party, Nwodo, which was obeyed.
“This, we believe, is what enabled the party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, Chief Adetunji Olurin, to collect and fill the required INEC forms along with others who won in the party’s primaries,” he said.
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