Abdulazeez ‘Jandor’ Adediran, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 general election, has dumped the party.
At a press conference in Lagos on Monday, Mr Adediran cited “persistent anti-party activities, internal sabotage, and lack of discipline” as reasons for his decision to resign from the main opposition party.
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However, he noted that he arrived at the “difficult” decision after deep reflection and extensive consultations with his relatives, political associates, and supporters.
Mr Adediran, who did not mention his next move, blamed some elements within the party leadership for sabotaging his candidacy.
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Popularly known as Jandor, he contested against the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, seeking reelection, and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP) and came in third.
Internal wrangling
Mr Adediran said that despite his dedication to the ideals of democracy, it is evident that the PDP would not uphold the values of good governance and the pursuit of a better Lagos.
He said the indiscipline and internal wrangling have made it difficult for progress to be made within the party.
“As the governorship candidate in the 2023 election, we ran a campaign based on transformation, development, and the desire for positive change, but unfortunately, the internal betrayals and lack of commitment from the party leadership hindered our chances and left many of our supporters bewildered and disillusioned,” he said.
“Today is 15 days to exactly 2 years since I contested for the Office of the Governor of Lagos State.
“During that electioneering process, we enjoyed passionate and unwavering support from party loyalists, especially at the grassroots. However, some leaders within the party saw our candidacy as a threat to their daily bread.”
Attacks from within
The governorship candidate said his team was attacked six times during the political campaigns, but neither the party leaders at the national or state level issued a statement condemning such attacks.
Party leadership
Mr Adediran accused Bode George, a party chieftain, of “openly declaring support for the gubernatorial candidate of another party in a press conference and also advised Lagosians not to vote for the party he claimed to be leading as a member of the Board of Trustees.”
Mr George had vehemently opposed the candidacy of Mr Adediran. He had backed LP’s candidate, and he told Channels TV he had no regrets.
Asked whether he regretted not supporting Jandor, Mr George said, “I have no regrets whatsoever (not supporting Jandor). And let me tell you something: I said publicly to our presidential candidate that if they do not honour the Southwest, I won’t vote for Atiku; I did not hide it.”
Mr George disclosed his membership of the ‘Omo Eko Pataki (important Lagos indigenes) group, and they agreed to pick a candidate to support regardless of political affiliations.
Formal complaint
Meanwhile, Mr Adediran said he and his team made a complaint after the election at the national level about the anti-party activities of some leaders. However, to his disbelief, Mr George was appointed vice chairperson to oversee the disciplinary committee to investigate the matter.
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Mr Adediran described the development as “a rude shock,” which has “turned the party into a joke.”
He also noted that he preserved to see how things would pan out, but there was no change.
“We have waited this long to see if there will be some sort of respite, but what we see, even at the top, is that the same set of leaders that campaigned and worked openly against the party are the ones holding the aces today,” he said.
“How do we trust the same people again in the next election cycle, and how do we forgive those who are not sorry for their misdeeds?”
Mr Adediran said moving on, he would discuss with well-meaning Nigerians “the next course of action that best serves the interests of Lagosians.”
