Nigeria Content Online

The governorship
candidate for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Tunji
Olurin yesterday started his campaign for the race from Ilaro, Mr
Olurin, accompanied by his running mate, Tunde Oladunjoye, said his
coming into the race is to rescue the state from the hands of those he
alleged to be maltreating the citizens.

“I have been a
governor before, I know where I am coming from and I know where I am
going. I have a name to protect. I have no intention to steal
government money, we shall use government money judiciously,” he said.
“I am not going to be a sectional governor. All the zones of the state
have equally agreed to support us. So, let us all be united and cast
your votes for us. We must be brave in this struggle. For me, I am as
constant as the Northern star. There is no shaking, no going back, we
are going to stand firm.”

Protest rally

While the rally was
going on in Ilaro, the Gbenga Daniel faction of the party took to the
streets of Abeokuta, the state capital to protest the exclusion of the
names of their candidates from the list published by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). The protesters, who carried
various placards rebuking former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, also
threatened to embark on spiritual exercise until their ‘stolen mandate’
was reclaimed and vowed to upstage Mr Olurin and Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello,
daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, at the polls.

Leading the
protesters, factional chairman of the party, Joju Fadairo, dispelled
the rumour that the faction was planning to defect to another party.

“The rally is to
show that we are still in PDP and that our exco is still the authentic
leaders of the party. We are not going anywhere as they had wanted us
to do. We will not succumb to any clandestine move to frustrate us out
of the party,” Mr Fadairo said.

Similarly, Gboyega
Isiaka, the party’s governorship candidate from the Gbenga Daniel group
said, “We will use every legal means to fight to redeem our mandate. I
want to assure you that justice, equity and even God are on our side.
Justice may be delayed, it will surely not be denied,” he said. “The
rally is to show that we are still in PDP and that our executives are
still the authentic leaders of the party.”

It could be recalled that two parallel primaries were conducted in
Ogun State during the PDP primaries in the state. An Abuja High court
had ordered INEC to recognise the list of candidates sent to it by the
Jibrin Martins-Kuye faction of the PDP. Effort by Mr Daniel’s faction
of the party to upturn the ruling was denied by a Federal High court
sitting in Abeokuta. This ruling made INEC to reject the list sent to
it by Mr Daniel’s faction.