Mass Defection Looms In Ondo PDP

Governor Olusegun Mimiko

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State

Bosun Oladimeji

Following the success of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State at the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections, there are strong indications that the structure of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state is on the verge of total collapse as mass defection of PDP stalwarts and their teeming supporters looms.

The APC polled an overwhelming majority votes in the state to give the party’s presidential candidate, General Muhammed Buhari, strong edge against the outgoing President, Goodluck Jonathan.

P.M.NEWS reliably gathered that the Ondo State chapter of PDP has been divided into three factions. One of the factions is being led by Barrister Olusola Oke, the National Legal Officer of the party and former gubernatorial candidate of the party.

The second faction is led by  business mogul and owner of Mirror Newspaper Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, while the third faction is led by Kingsley Kuku,  Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Amnesty programme.

A reliably source told our correspondent that some of the party chieftains have already begun to initiate moves to decamp to the APC.

The source said that the PDP faction led by Olusola Oke met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday to discuss the modality for their defection to the APC.

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Those that visited Obasanjo in his Abeokuta country home include: Femi Agagu, former Chief of Staff of the late former governor, Olusegun Agagu;  Mr. Ogunye, a factional state chairman of PDP; Barrister Ajana, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice; Mrs. Oladunni Odu, former Ondo State SPEB Chair Person;  Comrade Alaba Isijola, former Head of Service, Ondo State ; Ola Oguntimehin,  former member of House of Assembly;  Prof. Akinyerinju; Alhaji Ganiyu Sule-Oderinde, former Secretary to the Local Government council and Chief Femi Omosanya.

Others are Chief Demola Ijabiyi, former PDP gubernatorial aspirant and the Director General of Bode Olajumoke campaign organisation.

The Oke faction is said to be aggrieved with the manner the leadership of PDP in Abuja conceded the party to Governor Mimiko to run the state party affairs as well co-ordinate the campaign of President Jonathan in the South West zone.

At the end of the closed door meeting with Obasanjo, the group was said to have unanimously resolved to join the APC.

After Monday’s meeting with Obasanjo, the Oke team was said to have further met with the Ondo State APC chieftains including the party’s chairman, Barrister Isaac Kekemeke and his deputy Mr. Ade Adetimehin.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Adetimehin said: “It is a good development to have all the old PDP members coming to work with APC this time around. People are convinced that our party means well for the state and come 11 April , we hope to win 22 seats out of the 26 House of assembly seats by God’s grace. By 11 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday), we shall be sealing the coffin of PDP in Ondo State, which will be buried on Saturday.”

Also speaking on their defection, Oguntimehin said that all well-meaning Nigerians who believe in the social and economic progress of Nigeria are aligning with the APC to bring about change.

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