State Congress: Why Ondo PDP chairman withdrew and chances of Jegede.

The People’s Democratic Party,(PDP) in Ondo state has described as untrue, reports linking the decision of its chairman ,Chief Clement Faboyede not to recontest his position to enhancing the chances of one of the governorship aspirants, Mr Eyitayo Jegede to emerge as the party’s candidate ahead of the October election.

Chief Faboyede announced on Monday ,his decision not to recontest his position in the next congress at the party’s secretariat ,saying his decision was to foster unity among party members .

Faboyede, a former commissioner in the former governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration has been chairman of the party in the last five years.

Faboyede as well as the former attorney general and commissioner of justice in the same government, Eyitayo Jegede moved with their  boss, Mimiko to the PDP from Labour party but they refused to follow Mimiko to the Zenith Labour Party before the 2019 elections.

Faboyede had become the chairman of the PDP while Jegede became the party’s flag bearer in the 2016 governorship election but lost to APC’s governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

A source within the party told  ROVING REPORTERS that there is  more to the action of Faboyede than meets the eye.

According to the source, a situation whereby the party chairman and the governorship candidate will come from the same senatorial districts would not be allowed and could break up the party.

He said “ as you know, Faboyede and Jegede are from Ondo central senatorial district and with the calculations on ground, If Jegede plays his cards very well ,he may end up carrying our party’s flag. But others may used the position of Faboyede  to work against his chances so that was why you see Faboyede stepping down.

It was a sacrifice that he made should in case. I am not saying PDP will pick Jegede. All I am saying is that should Jegede’s chance be brighter , it will be against the party’s principle which may work against him. It was a good calculation and you shall be seeing it as events unfold. ”

Another source said the outgoing chairman of PDP in Ondo state is planning to join the race to be governorship candidate of the party.

He said “ I don’t know if he would still drop the idea but i know that Chief Faboyede is interested in contesting. He had to step down to nurse that ambition and make proper consultation and that might be another challenge for Jegede and other aspirants in the party.”

In a reaction ,the state Publicity secretary of PDP, Zadok Akintoye said such claim was not the true picture of why Faboyede made the decision ahead of the party’s congresses.

Akintoye said “Chief Clement Faboyede is not recontesting the position of chairman of our party so as to foster Unity of the party and it was a sacrifice he has made by his personal conviction that we need to unite the party, even in the congresses.

Don’t forget that we are in a precarious situation where we have to conduct congresses that will be within the same year with the governorship primary of the party as well as governorship election .

That  is not true ,that is totally untrue. That may be a consideration but not the truth. The truth is that he stepped down for the unity of the party and not to enhance the chances of anybody. As a matter of fact ,he is stepping down and the zoning may not necessarily be in favour of any aspirant within the party.

He ( Faboyede) has talked to me that for us to sustain unity within the party at this crucial time, it is better for us to have somebody at the helm of affairs who has no interest at all.

So by stepping down, he would have no group interest and will be able to handle the primaries and congresses without any partiality. ”

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