The Peoples Democratic Party has said it will not grant an automatic ticket to former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, if he declares his intention to contest in the Ogun State 2015 governorship.
The state Chairman of the party, Adebayo Dayo, in an interview with our correspondent, alleged that Bankole had stayed away from the party since he lost his re-election to the House in 2011 and would not be given special preference if he returns to the party to contest.
He said the national leadership of the party had no plans for Bankole concerning the next governorship election in the state.
Dayo said, “Presently, I have five aspirants in Ogun State. They have been working very hard and they have been donating money to sponsor all our programmes and rallies.
“We cannot say all the people that have been working for all these years should go and sit down and somebody who has not been active in the party since the last three years will just come and take the ticket.
“It is a different case for somebody who is coming into the party after about three years of absence to tell us that he is interested in the race. Dimeji Bakole has not even told us that he is interested. I asked him when he came to the (state PDP) secretariat and he said he did not come to inform us about his ambition; that he only came to the secretariat for consultation. And that is what he is doing all over the place.”
The PDP chairman also said the insinuation that the state PDP was partnering with the Labour Party led by ex-Governor Gbenga Daniel, as part of efforts to unseat the incumbent Governor Ibikunle Amosun of the All Progressives Congress, was untrue.
He stated the PDP would rather seek the defection of members of the LP than forming an alliance with the Daniel-led party.
Dayo said, “The PDP’s policy is that anybody is free to join the party. We have an open-door policy and we are doing everything possible to pull as many people as possible into the party so that we can work together and win the 2015 elections.
“It is not only the Labour Party; we are talking to the Accord Party in Oyo to let us work together. But working together does not mean that we will do it together as partners. They will have to leave the weaker party and join the larger one.”
Dayo admitted that the national leadership of the PDP had been in talks with Daniel on his possible return to the party.
“At a very high level, yes they are discussing. They have been talking for a while and I know that soon, we will be working together as members of a political party, which is the PDP. There is nothing like partnership,” Dayo added.
He further said the PDP was reaching out to aggrieved members of the APC and loyalists of a former governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba.
Dayo said many members, as well as elected and appointed public officers in the APC, had been coming to the PDP. He added that members of the LP were also defecting to the party.
“They have been defecting to our party in the last couple of weeks. We have recorded a lot of defection. They are coming to us one after the other. Their leadership in several local councils have collapsed their executives into the PDP,” he said. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Bankole shld be in jail awaiting execution if it's in China, I feel sorry for Nigeria where the only thief that gets punished are the ones from poor family. Our judicial system is a joke
ReplyDeleteIt‘s really a serious “JOKE“.
DeleteStill and join PDP THATS THE FORMAT. AND YOU WILL BE PROTECTED. THE PRESIDENT SAID STEALING IS NOT CORRUPTION.
ReplyDeleteu no get shame what is Bankole age when he became the speaker and what is ur own age now sitting down on one place condeming on internet and the young man is vying for Gov u are there condeming useless people
ReplyDeleteU re a real DISGRACE to ur family, community nd d entire nation. What a shame!
Delete