A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, Otunba Segun Adewale, has joined the race for the party’s ticket to contest for State’s West Senatorial District seat.
While addressing newsmen Wednesday in Lagos, the senate aspirant who is also former Lagos PDP Chairman said he was contesting to alleviate the sufferings of the masses in the zone who prevailed on him to represent them.
The aspirant, who had earlier contested for the seat in 2015 general elections, said that PDP had a very bright chance to win elections in the state in 2023 with recent defection of some people into the party.
He said: “I am not desperate at all unlike before. I am ready to even sacrifice this ambition for anybody in the interest of unity and cohesion in Lagos PDP.
“I thought someone should be a voice for the masses and the less privileged and that is why I am out. We need to go in to get a good representation at the Senate because people of Lagos West are not getting such now.
“It is not about sharing motorcycles but to have laws and policies that can affect people in millions. People of Lagos West are not feeling the impact of the Government.”
Adewale, who decried the alleged imbalance in the current constitution of Lagos State PDP executives, said that the fallout of the state congress, where a group allegedly hijacked the party structure, would affect the party’s chances.
According to him, for PDP to get to the Lagos Government House and win other seats in the 2023 general elections, the party leadership must come together and harmonise.
He said the outcome of February 27 state congress would not guarantee victory for the party if allowed to stand as so many blocs within the party were not represented.
“It is a matter of unity and cohesion that I am fighting for. The more PDP comes together, the easier to win election in 2023. We need to change APC government in Lagos across all levels.
“My fighting with those who have hijacked the party structure is not personal, I am only interested in PDP winning this election and we can only get there if we come together. It shouldn’t be the winner takes all. We will lose elections.
“It is clear that no single bloc in Lagos PDP can win elections alone. We have to harmonize to win. I am fighting because I want us to do the right thing that will give us victory in the 2023 polls.
“A single bloc cannot even mobilize party agents to man all the polling units, and the moment we don’t have this, we will fail again. We have to come together and that’s why I stopped fighting Chief Bode George, the leader of the party.
“Our people in Lagos are suffering; we have the chance to rescue them now. My view is that we have to harmonize and share positions so that PDP won’t be working against one another,” Adewale said.
The aspirant restated that he was ready to forgo the senatorial ticket if such would help bring unity, cohesion and harmonization that could position the PDP to win the 2023 elections.
“I care more for us to take over Lagos and Nigeria. Let us come into a round table and share state executives among various blocs for us to work together to be able to win,” he added.
Adewale urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible elections in the state in 2023.
A former PDP Chairman in Lagos State recall that Adewale popularly known in Lagos as “Aeroland”, picked the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms in Abuja Tuesday.
Adewale was the 2018 Governorship Candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Ekiti.