Ondo 2020: Why PDP Governors Shunned Defection Of The Deputy Governor

Less than 12 hours after his defection, fresh facts have emerged that deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi may have sold a dummy to the national leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) on the state lawmakers who will defect along with him ahead of his formal defection to the party .

This comes as PDP Governors Forum at their virtual meeting over the weekend, resolved to excuse themselves from yesterday’s event because their presence could be interpreted as encouraging rebellion and treachery.

PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus had led a handful of party leaders to Akure, the Ondo State capital to receive Ajayi who dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) to run against his boss, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in the October 10, 2020 governorship election on the ticket of the PDP.

It was gathered that the deputy governor had informed the PDP NWC and other national leaders of the party that about nine members of the State Assembly, two state commissioners as well as five special advisers were to resign their membership of the APC to join the PDP.

It was this assurance that reportedly encouraged Secondus to personally storm Akure to make a “harvest “, a source close to the national leadership of the PDP disclosed shortly after the departure of the national chairman of the opposition party to Abuja.

Ajayi had boasted at Kiribo, his hometown that nine Lawmakers were to follow him to the venue of the declaration just as the seven cabinet members would drop their resignation letters same day to accompany him to the state office of the PDP.

However, Secondus who had expected to see the new decampees was said to have asked from the deputy governor why they were unavailable. He reportedly asked: where are the nine lawmakers and commissioners, deputy governor?

“Nothing built on lies can stand. Now he has joined us and we have all seen how he deceived the NWC to risk the life our national chairman to come all the way from Abuja.

“As for the PDP governors, they weighed the implications of their possible presence at the event because they had held a virtual meeting where they concluded that none should come to the event so as not to encourage rebellion and treachery because it could be any of them tomorrow.

“It was quite embarrassing that the national chairman asked from the deputy governor the whereabouts of the nine Assembly members and the commissioners he promised would join him to defect.

“At least those of us who were selling some credible aspirants are now vindicated that the deputy governor cannot be trusted. They have seen it and the disappointment was written all over them at the event. The man, I mean Secondus left Akure unfulfilled because those lies could not make up.

“If he says it was his strategy to keep the commissioners and lawmakers in the APC, it is a lie because no politician who is worth his status will hide his potentials; they will rather flaunt borrowed potentials. So the question remains, where are the lawmakers?”