A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, on Friday urged all members of the party in Osun to put aside all differences and rally round Senator Ademola Adeleke to win the September 22 governorship election.
Babatope, a former Minister of Transportation, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
He urged party members to see Wednesday’s ruling of an Osogbo High Court which failed to stop Adeleke’s candidacy as a victory, not for Adeleke alone, but for the party.
The plaintiffs, Rasheed Olabayo and Idowu Oluwaseun, had sought the order of the court to disqualify Adeleke based on his educational qualification.
Recall that disagreements had trailed the July 21 PDP governorship primary, with seven aspirants, including Akin Ogunbiyi, faulting the process that produced Adeleke and vowing to challenge his emergence in court.
Babatope, who is from Osun, appealed particularly to aspirants who contested along with Adeleke to put loyalty to the party above any grievances they might have and support Adeleke to win the election.
He said: “This is not the time to fan the embers of discord or disunity in Osun PDP.
“This is the time to see ourselves as brothers and unite to support our candidate to win the September 22 poll.
“We should put loyalty to the party first above everything. Though differences are normal in politics, we should learn how to rise above our disagreements.
“We should put the grievances of the primary behind us and speak in one voice with the common objective of winning the election.”
Babatope said the South West PDP, led by Dr. Eddy Olafeso, and elders like Chief Olabode George and himself would continue to reach out to members in the state on the need to unite to defeat the All Progressives Congress.
He expressed the optimism that the PDP would win the September 22 election.
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