AS candidates of major political parties, participating in the September 22 governorship poll in Osun intensify their campaigns to secure votes during the exercise, one of the major stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Adejare Bello, on Monday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The development laid to rest speculations on which party he would defect to following the recent moves made by the APC to woo some of his supporters in Ede North and South local government areas of the state.
Towards this end, Bello, an indigene of Ede, in Osun West Senatorial District who was the Speaker, Osun State legislature, during the administration of former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola maintained that he had resigned his membership of the PDP with immediate effects.
In a letter, resigning his membership of the PDP, he attributed his resolve to dump the party for alleged impunity and imposition, contending that the leadership of the PDP breached the agreement it reached with governorship aspirants of the party before the emergence of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the gubernatorial candidate.
According to the letter dated 10th, September 2018, Adejare Bello, also a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP said “I hereby write to officially resign my membership of the PDP at all levels of the party. I use this medium to appreciate the party and the leadership for several opportunities given to me to serve the party and the people of Osun State.”
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The letter, obtained by TribuneOnline in Osogbo, on Monday further reads that “the period which my loyalty, consistency and dedication to the course of the party and state were never questioned on in doubt. In particular, my party, PDP gave me the opportunity in 2003 to 2011 to be the Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly under the Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Also, in 2014, I was made the deputy governorship candidate to Otunba Iyiola Omisore.”
It continued, “I also had the opportunity to be state chairman of this party between 2011 and 2012 though in an acting capacity in order to restructure the party. All these wonderful opportunities in PDP would forever be appreciated. Going forward therefore, the recent event, especially within the Osun State chapter of the party, which to my mind are inimical, contrary and total shift from the intendments of the founding fathers of the party, which was built on justice, fairness and service has caused me to reconsider my membership in the party.”
Confirming his defection to APC, Adejare, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone hinted that “the chairman of the Ede North local government slot had been hijacked from me and given to Adeleke’s group. One of the reasons for leaving the PDP is the hijacking of the party structure from me in my local government.”
He added that “the party asked all the 11 governorship aspirants to sign an undertaken. The party promised to be fair to all of us and at the end of the day, they came up with an adoption of a candidate and the ground was no longer level. It was not a fair play. It was in the agreement we signed that the party would be fair to all. They caused us to sign. That is imposition or impunity. That they breached the agreement made to the aspirants. They also breached the undertaken asked us to sign.”
and then