Considering the statement credited to Dare Adeleke, a member of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ibadan South East, on consensus candidate for Ibadan South East and Ibadan North East House of Representatives federal constituency that the aspirants have agreed, stakeholders and members of the party under the aegis of Concerned IBSE/IBNE Forum have said the statement is far from the truth, mischievous and attempted calculation to distort the information to mislead people of the constituency.
They said Dare Adeleke was not part of the resolution, noted that he just came to the meeting that lasted for hours at the residence of Deputy National Chairman (South) Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and spent just like twenty minutes and left.
It could be recalled that after a series of meetings by the aspirants, leaders and stakeholders from the constituency, they failed to agree on consensus at a meeting held in Ambassador Arapaja’s house on Monday afternoon.
The aspirants called on the leadership of the party to allow them to test their popularity based on their political antecedents.
The aspirants present at the meeting where they could not reach consensus and opted for primary include a United Kingdom-based Nigerian medical consultant, Kazeem Sina Olasupo popularly known as KSO, Akeem Ige, Deji Aboderin, Laide Ali and others.
After the meeting at Arapaja’s house, in the evening they proceeded to government house to brief the governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde the outcome of their meeting, where they could not reach consensus.
At the government house, Governor Makinde emphatically told all those present that “anywhere they could not agree on consensus, he has given his consent to go for primary.
It was also gathered that the governor told them point plank that “he has no anointed candidate, that all of them should go to field to test their popularity, which is the beauty of democracy”.
The aspirants also pledged their support for whoever emerges as the party’s candidate provided such is a product of primary election which is the wishes of all members of the party and tenet of democratic setting.
Reacting to Adeleke’s claim, Biodun Adebola for Concern IBSE/IBNE Forum, said such utterances from Adeleke is not new as he is synonymous with mischievous, distortion of information and a political jobber.
He said it is a pity that the calibre of Adeleke did not know the meaning of consensus.
“And it is open secret that non of the aspirants at Ambassador Arapaja’s house agreed to consensus, where on earth did Adeleke, who spent just twenty minutes out of meeting that lasted for almost three hours got his own information.
“Electoral act as amended in 2022 consensus should be 100 percent agreeable by the aspirants, where one of the aspirants disagree, primary is the next option”
