PDP Primary: Ondo North/South Youths Reject Imposition of Candidate

By James Sowole in Akure

As controversy over who becomes the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the November 2016 election in Ondo State rages, the North/South Senatorial Youths Campaigners (NSYC)  has vowed to frustrate the adoption of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as the party’s governorship candidate.

The group stated this in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Dele Ayeni, alleging that the leadership of the party in the state wants to avoid conducting the party’s primary.

However, the leadership of the party in the state insisted that it would not impose candidate on the party.

The PDP, according to a top officer, would  give room for internal democracy, adding that the party would give a free hand to delegates to choose the flag-bearer of the party for November 26 governorship election.

The aggrieved group specifically alleged that  the State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, was  planning to destroy the party to pave way for opposition to win the next governorship election in the state,

The group said  the governor was planning to present a weak person which would be to the detriment of PDP in the forthcoming election.

They  alleged that Mimiko decided to throw his weight behind Jegede because of the strong connection that exists between Jegede and the former Vice President of the country, Atiku Abubakar who has promised to sponsor Jegede’s election.

“It is believed that Mimiko is heavily enticed by large quantum of fund promised by Atiku in pursuit of Jegede’s emergence as PDP flag bearer.”

The group also said that picking Jegede as the party flag bearer will afford Mimiko to pick the central senatorial ticket for the Senate in 2019 saying “Mimiko will simply appeal to the sentiment of Akure people to return a favour he did for them when he picked Jegede against all odds”