A former Commissioner on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Barrister Benson Enikuomehin, formally defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, ahead of the November governorship election in the state.
Enikuomehin, who led over 200 other members of the ruling party to the PDP, stated that they decided to leave the APC due to the absence of internal democracy within the ruling party in the state. He expressed their readiness to work and vote for the PDP and Agboola Ajayi.
He stated that the APC has destroyed all the tenets of democratic principles, adding that the leadership of the party and its candidate lacked the political will to move the state forward.
“Agboola Ajayi is someone we know very well; his antecedents speak volumes. He has tried his best for the development of our area, Ilaje. We can boldly say that he is our son.
“He’s married to our daughter here in Ilaje. We have seen his positive impact on Ilaje’s development, so we are very convinced that he would perform better than the person the APC is currently parading as their governorship candidate, who has had no known impact in Ilaje for a long time.”
Also speaking during the ceremony were two APC defectors from Atijere, Mahin Ward 4, where over 70 APC members defected to the PDP. Olawale Oladun and Jejeniwa Raimi said they decided to leave the APC because of the poor leadership and governance in Ondo State and Nigeria.
Jejeniwa stated, “We cannot be part of such a system again. We are now in the PDP to add value to Agboola Ajayi’s ambition of becoming the governor of Ondo State.”
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Additionally, Dr. Richard Ebijimi, who led over 2,000 members to the PDP from the APC, said their move to the opposition party would add value to the party, especially in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Ebijimi stated that they have made up their minds to be part of the change agents for good governance in Ondo State, saying, “We will not look back. We will make sure we canvass throughout the local government, vote for the PDP, and stand by to protect our votes so that there won’t be any manipulation on election day.”
The PDP leaders who welcomed the new members assured them that the party would not sideline them, urging them to canvass votes for Ajayi and the PDP.
The PDP leaders included Dr. Eddy Olafeso, Chairman of the Ondo PDP Campaign Council; John Ola Mafo, Director General of Special Duties for the Ondo PDP Gubernatorial Campaign Council; the gubernatorial flag bearer of the party, H.E. Agboola Alfred Ajayi; Hon. Rasheed Elegbeleye, Director General of the PDP Campaign Council for the North; Alhaji Sheu Agba, Chairman of Mobilization for the PDP Gubernatorial Campaign Council in Ondo South; and Ayo Fadaka, among others.
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