New Telegraph

Defections: PDP govs take over Ondo Supreme Court battle

In what appears like a wake-up call to save the party from extinction ahead 2023, governors elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have resolved to throw their collective weight behind Eyitayo Jegede, the party’s governorship candidate in the October 10, 2020 Ondo election.

 

Jegede had lost both at the lower election tribunal as well as the appellate court in his challenge of the election that returned the incumbent governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

 

He has, however, headed to the Supreme Court. The move by the PDP governors, New Telegraph learnt is coming in the wake of the gale of defections that has hit the party lately. Three governors, hitherto of the PDP: David Umahi (Ebonyi), Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Bello Mattawale (Zamfara) have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last three months.

 

New Telegraph, however, gathered that more defections may occur in the coming days, despite the fact that this could not be independently confirmed as at press time. Disturbed by this development, the PDP governors are said to have buried their hatchets to put their house in order ahead of 2023 general elections. Accordingly, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is leading the charge to take over what a source described as the ‘leg work’ as the apex court determines the case between the governor and Jegede. It was gathered that the fresh moves by the Rivers State governor had prompted the Ondo State chapter of the PDP to repudiate a statement from the South- West zonal Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofaratari, which took a swipe at the judiciary. But the state’s party spokesman in Ondo, Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, denied that claim, saying the party never authorised the statement. This disclosure comes one week after the Rivers State governor reportedly invited Jegede to the state to commission some projects. New Telegraph learnt that the visit afforded the PDP candidate an opportunity to brief Wike about the details of the pending case. It will be recalled that in the run up to the PDP presidential primary, Wike and Jegede were in opposing camps just as the Rivers governor was non-committal to the party in the Ondo governorship election.

 

But the source, who is a member of the PDP National Executive Committee, confided in a team of journalists over the weekend that all issues arising from the presidential primary that prompted the frosty relationship between Wike and Jegede were resolved  last week.

 

The source said: “Truly, there was no love lost between Wike and our Ondo candidate; but it appears all issues been resolved because the River governor had already invited Jegede to Port Harcourt to brief him about all the details in respect of the Ondo case that is already before the Supreme Court.

 

“Not only that, even the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, now know that there is a big challenge ahead of them and they are billed to do some leg work like Wike, by meeting one or two monarchs up north.

 

“There must be a PDP before they come for the ticket; so they have also resolved to put their past behind and push for a good landing for the Ondo candidate because already, we are depleting and there is no need to be pretentious about this.

 

So, if we can have Ondo to the party, it will boost our standing and chances ahead of 2023.”

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