Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos

The National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied allegations that it had granted waiver to the embattled deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, who is rumoured to be on his way out of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

There were reports that the PDP, led by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, had granted the waiver to Ajayi, who is having a running battle with his principal, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, at the weekend.

However, speaking with Daily Independent on Monday, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, denied granting any waiver to the embattled deputy governor.

Ologbondiyan, who also said he had no knowledge if the deputy governor had joined the PDP, added that waiver could only be granted to a politician who had formally joined the party and fulfilled certain conditions spelt out by the party for contesting on its platform. He said: “The first question is, has he joined the party? He can only get waiver after joining the party. You don’t discuss granting waiver to someone outside the party.

“You must first be a member of the party, then we now look at the conditions upon which somebody can contest for elective position.

“If the person now meets the conditions, the National Working Committee (NWC) will now sit down and grant waiver.Waiver cannot be granted to someone who has not joined the party.

“I’m not aware that Ondo deputy governor has moved into our party but I do know that to get a waiver, you must have joined the party and you will meet certain conditions before you can be granted waiver.”

Also, speaking yesterday on the crisis between the deputy governor and Akeredolu, Donald Ojogo, the state’s Commissioner for Information, said misused trust was what was largely responsible for the fracas.

According to him, since coming on board, Akeredolu made the office of his deputy the most powerful but the deputy governor betrayed the trust his principal had in him. “I don’t know if there is a cold war.

If at all there is, it is not abnormal in politics; it is not unusual in politics.

“And as far as governance is not affected adversely, those of us who are working under them have not seen the reason to believe that there is a cold war.

We do not believe that there is any cold war, we don’t think so,” he said. When asked if he was aware that the deputy governor was joining the PDP, the Commissioner said only Ajayi could answer the question. He said: “Whether the deputy governor is going to PDP? I lack the competence to answer that question.

“I’m not in his mind, I’m not in his heart, I’m in APC and I do not think I would want to subscribe to rumours that he is going to PDP.

“If actually, you have also considered them rumours why don’t you wait and see that he has actually moved to PDP before we confirm that these things are real? “So, I do not want to believe in those rumours but as you have said, I also hear them as rumours. “I don’t want to believe that it is true.

Even if it is true, it is not within my competence to either confirm or deny.

“I do not know when they parted ways and I don’t want to know. But I can say that Mr. Governor, in the history of Nigeria, Ondo State, in particular, is the only governor that entrusted so much power in his deputy much more than any other person.

“In the history of Nigeria, I can say that the Office of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, I’m not talking about the personality but the office of the Deputy Governor, became more powerful and more influential from 2017 till date under Akeredolu.

“And if there are issues the public see in the realm of loss of confidence, distrust, and disappointment, culminating in a cold war, according to you, we need to know why because I also don’t know at what point something went wrong and there shouldn’t have been any reason for anything to go wrong because since Akeredolu came on board, the Office of the Deputy Governor became more powerful than it was.

“And if, actually, they have parted ways, it will be unfortunate and only betrayal of trust and confidence; it could have been the reason.”
https://www.independent.ng/ondo-2020-pdp-denies-granting-akeredolus-deputy-waiver/

Please how is this helpful to the fight against covid19?Nonsense politics!

[s]

StubbornGENIUS:
Please how is this helpful to the fight against covid19?Nonsense politics!

[/s] it is not a must to comment. Face bulgari go ask am. Pdp is not the reason why your life is in shambles

yomi96:
[s][/s] it is not a must to comment. Face bulgari go ask am. Pdp is not the reason why your life is in shambles

So much pain in a sentence that I can't even comprehend! And who is Bulgari? probably your father...

Akerekete should better pack his load o. We dont want woman wrapper as governor. The ediot be given appointment to omoale wey no help am during election. Make we see how the arrogant wife go boast again

If the deputy joins PDP and contest, Akeredolu is a goner

yomi96:
Akerekete should better pack his load o. We dont want woman wrapper as governor. The ediot be given appointment to omoale wey no help am during election. Make we see how the arrogant wife go boast again

Because no qualified person in Ondo state that is y he appointed an omoale as an aide.