The 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Dr Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran popularly known as Jandor, has said that the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, former deputy governor in the state, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele and other leaders of the party that supported other candidates during the last elections have ceased to be members of the party. Speaking at a ‘thank-you ceremony’ for members of his campaign team, Jandor declared that with the suspension of other leaders, he is now the new leader of the PDP in the state. According to him, leaders of the party who openly declared for another candidate both during the presidential and governorship elections are no longer members of the party.
Jandor said the experience of the PDP and its candidates in the 2023 election was not different from the past when some party leaders betrayed the party by working against its candidates. He maintained that working against the party has been the stock in trade of those party leaders. He recalled that in the 2019 election, the same group declared to support the Action Democratic Party (ADP) against the PDP and also worked for the Labour Party in the 2017 local government election in the state. He said: “What happened was their stock in trade. If you don’t want to be in PDP again, carry your bag and go. Those who have declared for labour should stay there.
“Those who have worked for APC should enjoy it. The owner of the party is at the centre and we are waiting for them to tell us how they want their party to be run at the state level.” Jandor declared that as the candidate of the party in the last election, he is now the number one leader of the party. “As of today, I am number one at the party. I am saying this with due respect to other faithful leaders I met in PDP, I am now the number one by the constitution of our party except I choose to leave tomorrow,” he declared.
He assured that he would remain in the party to continue to provide leadership for every party member looking for a true and selfless leader. “I am ready to provide leadership for all of you. I still have the flag of our party in my hand and I am not dropping it,” he said. But the Lagos PDP Consultative Forum has advised members of the party in the state not to take Jandor seriously, saying that he is a mole working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilise the party.
New Telegraph in a phone interview with one of the leaders of the forum, called on the National Working Committee of the party to probe Jandor over his handling of election funds released to him during the election. The leader said: “Jandor is a political nuisance to Lagos PDP. The National headquarters of the party should call Jandor to order by opening the probe of the election funds released to him during the general election. “He diverted the money which is why the party performed poorly in 2023.
He is no longer relevant to our party because he is the APC mole in the party. “Lagos PDP under Jandor as the governorship candidate recorded the worst result in the 25 years of PDP in the state.”
