The Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally declared its support for the candidacy of Osun Governor, Ademola Adeleke, of the Accord Party, for Saturday’s governorship election, despite the Court of Appeal judgment recognising the PDP’s candidate for the poll.
The decision was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday on behalf of the INWC by the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong.
The development came just days after the PDP’s candidate for the election, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, declared his support for the incumbent governor.
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Ememobong said the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had upheld the nomination of Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola as the PDP governorship candidate submitted by the Kabiru Turaki-led INWC and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately include the party’s logo on the ballot papers for the August 15 election.
According to him, the appellate court held that the PDP had duly conducted its primary election, which was monitored by INEC, and had forwarded the name of the winner to the commission.
He said the court further ruled that the access code for nomination on INEC’s portal was merely an administrative requirement and could not override the statutory provision requiring political parties to forward the names of their candidates to the commission.
The INWC, however, accused INEC of bias and deliberately frustrating the participation of its candidate in the election.
The statement said, “This judgment confirms the persistent bias and unceasing opposition by INEC against the legitimate leadership of our party, in favour of pretenders who are working for the ruling party.”
It added that the primary election that produced the PDP candidate was “peaceful, transparent, and the result uncontested,” noting that it was duly monitored by INEC.
According to the statement, INEC subsequently refused to recognise the candidate and withheld the codes required for the upload of candidates, forcing the party to seek legal redress.
The INWC said although the Court of Appeal had eventually delivered justice by directing INEC to include the PDP’s logo on the ballot, the judgment came too late to allow its candidate to campaign effectively.
“Though justice has finally been done, in this case the grant of justice is akin to a denial as there is no opportunity for our candidate to undertake campaigns in preparation for the elections,” it said.
The INWC accused the electoral commission of acting in a partisan manner and reiterated its position that INEC was “not a neutral umpire,” but was allegedly working to weaken opposition parties in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
It said the situation had forced the INWC to take a strategic decision to support Adeleke rather than withdraw from the electoral process.
“As a true opposition party and in defence of multi-party democracy, and after exhaustive consultations with key stakeholders, the Committee has decided to support the candidature of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord Party for Saturday’s governorship elections,” the statement said.
The INWC described Adeleke as a former member of the PDP who left the party following what it called a “state-engineered and funded leadership conflict.”
The Turaki-led INWC consequently urged PDP members in Osun State to vote for Adeleke, defend their votes and ensure that their ballots counted.
“We therefore ask all our members to vote for Governor Adeleke. We encourage them to go out on Saturday to vote, defend their votes and ensure that their votes count in the election,” it stated.
The PDP faction also urged Nigerians to resist what it described as the APC’s “do or die” approach to elections, insisting that electoral outcomes must reflect the will of the people.
“Elections must be a true reflection of the people’s wish, freely expressed through the ballot. Anything short of that is robbery and must not be allowed to stand,” it added.