The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, for Saturday’s governorship election despite a Court of Appeal judgment affirming Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola as the party’s candidate.
NEWSNGR reports that the party announced the decision in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of its Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong.
According to the PDP, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to include the party’s logo on the ballot for the August 15 election.
The party said the appellate court upheld Adedamola’s nomination after finding that the PDP conducted a governorship primary monitored by INEC and subsequently forwarded the winner’s name to the electoral commission.
“The panel of the Court held that the party having duly conducted primaries which were monitored by INEC, and the name of the winner forwarded to the commission, there was no legal impediment to the participation of the candidate in the elections,” the statement said.
The PDP added that the court held that the access code required to upload nominations on the INEC portal was an administrative procedure that could not override the statutory requirement for parties to submit candidates’ names.
Despite the judgment, the party said it decided to support Adeleke, who is contesting on the platform of the Accord Party, because its own candidate had little time left to campaign before the election.
“To this end, faced with the unimaginable difficulty that this situation puts on us, the Interim National Working Committee has chosen not to throw its hands up in defeat,” the statement said.
The party said the decision followed consultations with key stakeholders and consideration of Adeleke’s previous membership of the PDP.
“We therefore ask all our members to vote for Governor Adeleke,” it added.
Party Urges Members To Defend Votes
The PDP called on its members and supporters to participate fully in the election and ensure that their votes were protected.
It also accused INEC of bias, alleging that the commission failed to recognise its candidate despite monitoring the primary that produced him.
According to the party, the development deprived its candidate of sufficient time to campaign effectively before Saturday’s poll.
The PDP further appealed to political actors and voters to reject violence and allow the election to reflect the wishes of the electorate.
“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,” the party stated.
Adeleke, who left the PDP for Accord, is seeking another term as governor in the August 15 election.
