Ogun PDP Hits Back At Former Chair Ogundele’s Lawsuit, Labels Move As APC Sabotage
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The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly criticized a recent lawsuit led by Dr. Sikirulai Ogundele, former State Chairman of the Party, and 13 others.
The suit, filed at the Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta, challenges the eligibility of certain candidates set to represent the PDP in the upcoming local government elections.
Dr. Ogundele and his associates argue that candidates not listed in the party registers validated by the National Working Committee (NWC) should be disqualified. They are seeking a court order to nullify the candidacies of these individuals, claiming that their names were not included in the authentic registers during recent ward congresses. The group also requests that the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) remove these names from the list of PDP candidates for the chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, and councillorship positions.
In response, Arc. Kayode Adebayo, Publicity Secretary of Ogun PDP, condemned the lawsuit as “frivolous” and described it as an attempt to “judicially ambush” the party’s local election prospects. The statement from Adebayo suggested that Ogundele’s actions were politically motivated and that he might be aligning with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to disrupt PDP’s preparations for the election. “We are aware of APC’s earlier attempts to manipulate OGSIEC in favor of Ogundele’s parallel list of candidates, which ultimately failed due to lack of support,” Adebayo stated.
Adebayo further emphasized that the legal action contradicts the PDP Constitution, specifically Sections 8(2) and (3), which stipulate that party registers should be validated at the ward level by the Chairman and Secretary, rather than the NWC as Ogundele asserts. He added, “This attempt to undermine our party’s electoral chances demonstrates a misunderstanding of our party’s constitutional guidelines and the electoral process.”
The PDP in Ogun accused the APC of seeking to destabilize their efforts, noting the growing public support for PDP candidates across all 236 wards and 20 local government areas. “The overwhelming acceptance of our candidates is clearly unsettling for Governor Dapo Abiodun and the APC,” said Adebayo, expressing confidence that the lawsuit, which the party has yet to be officially served, will be dismissed as meritless.
The PDP called on the judiciary to recognize the alleged political intentions behind the suit and to avoid engaging with what it described as a “deliberate ploy” to stymie the party’s participation in the election. “The timeframe for filing objections to candidate sponsorship has expired under OGSIEC’s guidelines, and this case should be seen as dead on arrival,” the statement concluded.
In closing, Adebayo urged all PDP candidates to remain calm and continue their campaigns, expressing optimism about the party’s readiness and determination to win the upcoming elections.
