There was confusion on Friday as the Leke Shittu-led faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said it would participate in Saturday’s council polls in Ogun State.
This is coming few hours after another faction backed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP under the chairmanship Sikirulai Ogundele announced withdrawal from the election.
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The State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) had recognized Shittu’s faction based on a court order and thereby accepted its list of candidates for the July 24 election.
But Ogundele had earlier dragged OGSIEC to court for dealing with a faction loyal to late Buruji Kashamu of the PDP in the State.
The NWC-backed faction on Thursday evening announced its withdrawal from the election, but the Shittu led faction said they would participate in the poll having been recognised by the electoral body.
Shittu in a statement he signed on Friday and made available to journalists in Abeokuta said that the clarification became imperative due to the confusion generated by the statement credited to Ogundele saying that the PDP had pulled out of tomorrow’s local government elections.
He said, “This is to inform the general public and good people of Ogun State that the party has and will never pull out of tomorrow’s local government elections.
“We have done all that we are supposed to do under the law and we will surely participate in tomorrow’s local government elections.
“We hereby use this medium to urge the good people of Ogun State to disregard the statement credited to one Hon Sikirulai Ogundele who is not in any capacity capable of speaking on behalf of our great party, PDP.
“It’s all gimmicks to create confusion where there is none but as the authentic leadership of Ogun PDP, the opposition party is participating in tomorrow’s local government elections.”
Shittu, however, urged the residents of the state to disregard the statement saying that “as the authentic leadership of PDP in Ogun State, we are going ahead with the local government elections as scheduled for tomorrow, July 24”.
