Umar Sani, a prominent chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has shed light on Governor Ademola Adeleke’s absence. The Osun State Governor did not attend the party’s recent primary election.

According to Sani, Governor Adeleke believes an internal party crisis could prevent the PDP from fielding a validly recognized candidate.

Allegations of a Cross-Party Strategy

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, Sani made a significant allegation. He claimed the governor planned to defect to another party. The goal was to secure a ticket, then return to the PDP afterwards.

Sani further alleged that Governor Adeleke intentionally skipped the primary process. This was to create an excuse for a temporary defection.

Sani’s Role in the Primary Election

Sani served as the chairman of the three-man ad hoc delegates committee for Osun State. He personally supervised the delegates’ election in Osogbo. The exercise proceeded peacefully, he affirmed.

The results were uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal. INEC officially acknowledged these results.

Elaborating on his involvement, Sani stated, “I was the chairman of the three-man ad hoc delegates committee. I went to Osun and lodged in DC Hotel in Osogbo. We successfully conducted the three-man delegate election.”

He continued, “Afterwards, I returned to Abuja. The results have been uploaded to the INEC portal and recognized. I speak from an insider’s perspective.”

PDP Rejects the Strategy

Sani explained Adeleke’s purported reasoning. “Governor Adeleke does not want PDP to field a candidate. He believes there’s a problem within the PDP. This concerns whose signature INEC will recognize.”

“So, he’s attempting to move to another party,” Sani added. “According to him, he would secure the seat and then return to the PDP.”

However, the PDP firmly rejected such a strategy. “PDP says no, we cannot do that,” Sani insisted. “We want someone to run on our platform. What would the party look like if we had a platform but didn’t use it?”

He further questioned, “How would others react to our platform then? They would also run away, giving the same excuse: ‘Let me get something from somewhere else and come back.'”

Therefore, the party insisted that all aspirants must contest on the PDP platform. This preserves the party’s integrity. “We said no, everyone who wants to contest must use our platform,” Sani concluded.

“That’s why we conducted the primary election. It was not hijacked. It was done peacefully. The process was widely publicized on social media. Results were counted openly and announced transparently.”