Except for a last minute change of mind, former senator Ayo Adeseun is almost out of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Close sources told OYO INSIGHT that the Ogbomoso-born politician has concluded plans to join the African Democratic Congress, ADC. This is just as Governor Abiola Ajimobi has launched talks to get him back to the folds of the All Progressives Congress, APC, that he defected from prior to the 2015 general elections.
Adeseun, a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011, represented Oyo Central senatorial district from 2011 to 2015.
Trouble had started between him and Engr Seyi Makinde few weeks to the recently-held PDP governorship primaries in the state. Both politicians, who contested the primaries, had accused each other of tampering with the delegate list.
Before the commencement of the election, which held at the Liberty Stadium, Oke Ado, Ibadan, Adeseun had alleged foul play against Makinde and called for the cancelation of the process.
After announcing his partial withdrawal from the race, he led his supporters out of the venue.
The screening for the delegates was ongoing when Adeseun’s supporters suspected alleged irregularities in the delegates’ list and engaged the Makinde camp in a shouting match.
Adeseun called the attention of the PDP national officers to the development.
He said: “It may interest you to know that even in my local government, 56 names were fraudulently inserted into the delegates’ list.
He left the mainbowl of the Obafami Awolowo Stadium around 1:38pm with his convoy.
Makinde would later clinch the PDP gubernatorial ticket as defeated Adeseun by 2772 to 21 votes.
Before the D-day, a party source had confided in this newspaper that “There’s likely going to be an implosion at the PDP primaries at liberty stadium today,” adding that “Anyway, he’s very much likely going to leave the party today, because he just got the list of delegates that will vote at the primaries, and more than 50% of the names have been change. Both Ajimobi and the ADC leadership are talking to him, just like they (Makinde’s camp), are doing with Akala. Up till yesternight, they were talking to him, but he assured both ends that the list of delegates the party brings forward would determine what he’ll do.”
Attempts to get Adeseun’s reaction proved abortive as he was unreachable as at the time of filing this report.
But in a recent interview, the party’s senatorial aspirant in Oyo Central, Chief Bisi Ilaka, said the process that produced Makinde as governorship candidate was transparent. “I was there on the day of the primary and I think the process was as transparent as it can. Our democracy in the country is still work-in-progress. But having said that, people came from all the 33 local government councils and they were all duly accredited. The delegates from Adeseun’s federal constituency, that is Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere, were there and they, in their own wisdom, decided to wear uniform attire and they were all duly accredited. There was no huffing and puffing among them that anybody that was not entitled to be there was present. They took part in the process and did not complain of marginalisation. By and large, the process was pretty transparent.”
He, however, said that “But having said that, there is an appeal procedure as part of the process and if he has any complaint, let him explore that. At the end of the day, we will all work together because the dispute resolution mechanism in the party will kick in and we will put matters to rest.”
