Olusola’s adoption as PDP sole candidate for Ekiti 2018 guber poll premature ―Aspirant

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the 2018 poll holding in Ekiti State, Otunba Segun Adewale (OSA), has described the adoption of incumbent deputy governor, Prof Kolapo Olusola, as the sole candidate of the party by a group loyal to Governor Ayodele Fayose as politically premature, insisting that such adoption was tantamount to imposition.

Adewale also known as Aeroland, who is the immediate past chairman, Lagos State chapter of PDP, said this at the weekend in Lagos in a statement issued by his Campaign Manager, Prince Tosin Jegede, counselling Governor Fayose and party’s leadership in Ekiti State to allow free and fair primary as well as the wishes of the people to prevail.

The PDP chieftain, while maintaining that Fayose, as leader of the party, was free to make his choice on who succeeded him all in a bid to continue his legacies of good governance, however, noted that such personal choice did not amount to the choice of all, just as he restated his commitment to his aspiration of becoming the next governor of Ekiti State.

According to him, “The choice of who flies our party’s flag in the 2018 governorship election rests entirely on the people and our governor knows this too.

“We are committed to our aspiration of providing quality and responsive leadership to the good people of Ekiti. Clearly, the adoption of an aspirant by a political group should not be mistaken for the emergence of a party’s candidate months before the party’s primary. Our counsel for the governor and party leadership in Ekiti State is to allow free and fair primary; allowing the wishes of the people to prevail.”

Adewale, however, admonished his supporters to disregard the said adoption, and further urged the governor to give a level playing field for all aspirants to contest the primary in order to allow a popular candidate to emerge.

While recalling that Governor Fayose rejected any form of imposition when he was contesting as an aspirant in 2014, Adewale said: ” My belief is that Governor Fayose as a leader of the party will play his role as the father of all.”