S’West PDP berates Ganduje over Oyo, Osun takeover comment

The South-West Peoples Democratic Party, on Thursday, tackled the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, over the plot by the ruling party to take over Oyo and Osun states after winning Ondo State in last Saturday’s election.

Rising from its three-day meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday, the PDP called on President Bola Tinubu to caution Ganduje against the APC chairman’s undemocratic and incendiary comments.

Speaking with journalists in Akure on Sunday, after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the APC candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the Ondo election, Ganduje had declared that the APC aimed to achieve political homogeneity of the South-West by further displacing the PDP from Oyo and Osun states.

Ganduje had said, “Our next target now is the South-West geopolitical zone, and you know we are good at hitting the target, and this is Osun State and Oyo State. We will do all that is possible to bring them into the fold so that we have political homogeneity in the South-West geopolitical zone.”

Both Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, had on Monday tackled Ganduje over his statement, describing the plot by the APC to take over the two states as wishful thinking.

In a statement on Thursday by its Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofarati, the South-West PDP condemned the “unwarranted threats by the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, to arm-twist the electoral process in Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, respectively, using its manipulation trademark.”

“We affirm, without equivocation, that Ganduje lacks justification to speak on moral issues,” the party said.

The South-West PDP expressed “disappointment in the Independent National Electoral Commission for the poor conduct of last Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State”.

It tackled INEC over “cases of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System defects and delayed arrival of election materials in PDP strongholds.”

 “We call on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to exonerate his sacred office by investigating the alleged compromise by the security personnel posted to Ondo State for the conduct of the election and bring all perpetrators to book,” the PDP said.

Atofarati said the South-West PDP appreciated the immense contributions of Oyo State Governor Makinde and Adeleke of Osun State and the PDP national leadership before, during, and after the Ondo governorship election.

He reiterated the Southwest PDP’s appeal to members “to remain law-abiding even in the face of intimidation.”

“As a party established by law, we shall continue to work with our legal team while we seek justice in due course,” Atofarati said.