Governorship: Adeleke withdraws from Osun PDP primary

    
 A former Osun State Governor Isiaka Adeleke has withdrawn from Saturday’s  primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party to elect the governorship candidate of the party in the state.
He  announced his withdrawal from the primary  at a  press conference addressed at his  residence in Ede on Friday evening.
The former governor joined the governorship race less than a month  ago and his withdrawal from the race cam as a shock to many of his supporters.


The primary to elect the PDP candidate for the governorship elections will now contested by Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and Mr. Wole Oke.
Adeleke had alleged that he was assaulted on Wednesday night by one of the aspirants.


Adeleke said,  “There is a likelihood of a breakdown of law and order if I participate in the primary election. Therefore, I am announcing that I will boycott tomorrow’s primary. Why should I allow somebody possessed by the devil to waste the lives of our people because I want to be a governor?


“A minister has continued to  threaten that he would waste so many lives in the primary.
“I am boycotting the primary, I will participate when our party decides to conduct  a free, fair and violence-free primary. But I will work for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan  in 2015.”


Olasunkanmi,  a  former Minister of Youth Development, had on Thursday condemned the conduct of the ward congresses of the party, alleging  it was manipulated in favour of one of the aspirants.
Olasunkanmi said this in a statement  by the Director Media and Strategy of his campaign organisation, Mr. Ayo Aluko-Olokun.


He said the election  did not hold in more than 16 local government areas of the state,  saying he had appealed it and sent same to the appeal committee of the party.