● Says PDP Without Candidate Has Endorsed Governor Adeleke
By John Dike, Osogbo
Osun State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Sunday Bisi, has dismissed his purported removal by a group described as a “stakeholders’ forum,” declaring the move illegal, unconstitutional and of no effect.
Reacting to a meeting reportedly held by the group on Thursday in Osogbo, Bisi maintained that no unauthorized assembly has the power to sack an elected state chairman with a subsisting tenure.
According to him, “The forum lacks the legal powers or mandate to remove or tamper with the elected structures of the party. I remain the chairman of the PDP in Osun State.”
Bisi further stated that the PDP currently has no officially recognised candidate for the forthcoming August gubernatorial election, adding that the party structure under his leadership has endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke for re-election.
“As the PDP has no candidate for the August governorship election, the party has endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke. That is the fact of the situation,” he said.
The party chairman acknowledged the ongoing leadership crisis at the national level of the PDP, noting that the internal divisions had earlier threatened the governor’s political future.
He explained that the decision taken by Governor Adeleke to seek an alternative platform for re-election was necessary under the circumstances.
“Our elected officials, minus the governor and the deputy governor, remain in the PDP. The mainstream of the party, covering all local government and ward structures, supports our leadership and the direction we have taken,”
He described contrary claims from the stakeholders’ group as the handiwork of a minority faction, alleging that members of the group did not support Adeleke during the 2022 governorship election.
Bisi also took a swipe at former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, describing comments attributed to him as “an open betrayal and a continuation of a failed 2022 plot” against Governor Adeleke.
“The division within the PDP national leadership threatened the candidacy of our governor. The right thing was done by the governor to secure a viable platform for re-election.
Interestingly, Prince Oyinlola was among the first to suggest such a move,”
He concluded by reaffirming that the recognised PDP leadership in Osun remains intact and cannot be dissolved by what he termed “an unelected, illegal and unauthorised group.”
“The mainstream of Osun PDP stands by the governor, by our leadership, and by our elected mandate as state officers,” he stated.
