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

Sani suggests Governor Adeleke believes ongoing internal disputes would prevent the PDP from fielding a validly recognized candidate. This perspective, according to Sani, influenced the governor’s decision.

Allegations of a Strategic Defection

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, Sani alleged the governor is planning a strategic move. He claimed Adeleke intends to secure a ticket with another political party. Following this, he would then reportedly return to the PDP.

Sani further stated that Governor Adeleke deliberately avoided the primary election process. This, he suggested, was to create an opportunity for this temporary defection.

Sani’s Account of the Primary Election

Sani chaired the three-man ad hoc delegates committee for Osun State. He personally oversaw the delegates’ election in Osogbo. He confirmed the exercise was conducted peacefully. The results were uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal. INEC officially acknowledged these results.

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

He continued, “And what happened is that Governor Adeleke does not want PDP to field a candidate. 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. According to him, he would now get the seat, and then return back to PDP.”

PDP Rejects the Strategy

The PDP, however, has rejected such a strategy. The party insists that all aspirants must contest on its platform. This is crucial to preserve the party’s integrity.

Sani articulated the party’s firm stance: “PDP says no, we cannot do that. 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? 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. 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.”