Politics
PDP Knocks Akeredolu Over Comments On Mimiko, Ex-CJ
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for Ondo Governorship Election has condemned a statement credited to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu against a former governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, and a former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi.
Akeredolu was alleged to have said on a television programme that Mimiko and Kumuyi were his “enemies for life” for not supporting him and his party, the APC, ahead of the October 10, 2020 governorship election.
The PDP campaign council described the statement as hate speech.
This was contained in a statement titled, “PDP Condemns Akeredolu’s ‘Enemy For Life’ Comment On Mimiko, Kumuyi,” which was signed by the Chairman, Publicity Sub-Committee of the council, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Monday.
He said Akeredolu and the APC had become deflated and overwhelmed by the massive support for the PDP’s candidate, Eyitayo Jegede across the state.
The PDP said it was unfortunate that “the governor can toe such ungodly path in his desperation to cling to power despite being rejected by his people due to his failures.
“Akeredolu’s recourse to hate comments against patriotic leaders and citizens of Ondo State over the consensus by the people to replace him with the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede.
“Our campaign wants Governor Akeredolu to note that the Ondo people cannot be cowed by his enmity towards them. Ondo State belongs to the people and Governor Akeredolu cannot intimidate anybody to submission.”
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Information, Hon Donald Ojogor, declined to react to the matter.
“They deserve no comment for their misdirected aggression,” Ojogor added.
Politics
LP Crisis: Ex-NWC Member Dumps Dumps Abure Faction
Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.
“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”
The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.
“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.
“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.
“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”
Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.
He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”
He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.
“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”
Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.
“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.
