Umar Sani, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently offered an explanation for Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s absence from the party’s primary election.

Sani suggested Governor Adeleke believed internal party disputes would prevent the PDP from presenting a legally recognized candidate.

Allegations of Defection Plot Emerge

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, Sani alleged the governor intended to defect to another party. The purported plan was to secure an election ticket there, then subsequently return to the PDP.

Sani claimed Governor Adeleke deliberately skipped the primary process. This, he suggested, was to create a pretext for his temporary departure from the party.

As the chairman of the three-man ad hoc delegates committee for Osun, Sani confirmed he personally oversaw the delegates’ election in Osogbo. He noted the exercise concluded peacefully. Results were uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal and officially acknowledged.

The PDP, according to Sani, rejected such a strategy outright. The party insists all aspirants must contest under its platform. This stance aims to preserve the party’s integrity.

Sani’s Direct Account

“Let me quickly tell you that I was the chairman of the three-man ad hoc delegates committee, and I went to Osun,” Sani stated. “I was in Osogbo, and I lodged in a hotel called DC Hotel.”

He continued, “We conducted the three-man delegate election, after which I returned to Abuja. It has been uploaded into the INEC portal. INEC has recognized it, and I received it. I am not speaking to you as somebody from the outside; I am speaking from the inside.”

Sani further elaborated on the alleged plot. “What happened is that Governor Adeleke does not want PDP to field a candidate,” he claimed. “He believes that there is a problem within the PDP regarding whose signature will be recognized by INEC.”

“So he’s trying to move to another party,” Sani alleged. “According to him, he would now get the seat, and then return back to PDP.”

“PDP says no, we cannot do that,” Sani affirmed the party’s position. “What we want is for somebody to run on our platform. Because what will the party look like if we have a platform and we do not use anybody on that platform?”

He posed a rhetorical question: “Then how will other people react to other platforms? They will run away also and give the same excuse, ‘let me go and get something from somewhere else and come back.’”

“So we said, no, we will have everybody; anybody who wants to contest must use our platform,” Sani concluded. “And so that’s why we conducted the primary election. It was not hijacked by anybody. It was peacefully done. It was all over social media. The results were counted openly, and it was announced.”