Preparations for the June 18 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti on Saturday took on a further dimension when former Governor Segun Oni announced his withdrawal from the main opposition. People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in Ekiti.
Segun Oni Movement spokesman Adebayo Jackson confirmed the development to reporters in Ado-Ekiti and said his resignation is effective immediately.
Jackson said the decision by Oni and his entire political establishment to leave the PDP was made at a meeting held at Oni’s residence in Ifaki-Ekiti, the Ido/Osi local government area of the state, earlier in the day.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that the former governor, however, has yet to clarify his next party of choice, although fingers point to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
According to Jackson, Oni “gave in to pressure from most of the Ekiti, who are willing to return him to Government House, “under any political party.”
Mr. Jackson, a former publicity secretary for the PDP in the state, hinted that the former governor would not only be leaving the PDP with hundreds of his supporters and supporters, but that his resignation from the party would also take effect immediately.
“I can confirm that His Excellency, Ing. Segun Oni has finally resigned from the PDP.
“All the people of Ekiti have decided that they want Segun Oni as a candidate for governor on any political platform. And he had listened to the calls.
“In fact, it was the image of Oni that has been promoting the image of the PDP in Ekiti state. And once the PDP has decided to commit suicide, we have to bow and go.
“The people of Ekiti won’t leave Oni just to go like this because they can’t see anyone else who can deliver what Oni has been doing for them.
“So, it is the voice of the people and not the voice of anyone. As it stands now, both PDP and APC will be competing against the people of Ekiti. And the symbol of the people of the state of Ekiti is Ing. Oni,” said Jackson.
Corroborating this, in a separate interview, former Segun Oni Campaign Organization director Lanre Ogunsuyi said the former governor’s departure “followed the high degree of injustice inflicted on Oni by some powerful party forces during the January 26 primary election. ”.
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“We have just said goodbye to the PDP, and His Excellency thanked all the people who worked with him and dissolved all the structures that ran the so-called primaries in the PDP.
“What we have now is a confluence of people, called the ‘Movement According to Oni.’ And by next week, we should have fixed ourselves, according to the INEC schedule.
“It is normal to speculate about politicians, especially a politician of Oni’s stature. He is a former governor and has just left the PDP. What is certain is that we have exited the PDP, but we are not sure where we are going,” he said.
On why Mr. Oni left the PDP, he said, “Because the PDP is a cult. Oni has been constant in his search for the truth. The truth in Nigerian politics means that you will be persecuted and all that, and that is all that has been happening.”
“When you are constantly on the lookout for truth and fair play, those things have no value in Nigerian politics,” he said. (YAYA)