The troubleshooting efforts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo paid off yesterday as the Peoples Democratic Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission replaced the list submitted by the Joju Fadairo-led faction of the Ogun State PDP with the one submitted by a faction favoured by the former President.



Obasanjo, who met with the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Haliru Mohammed, in Abuja on Tuesday over the list, supports the faction led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye.



The meeting, held at the Presidential Campaign office of the party, popularly called Legacy House, Maitama, was held behind closed doors. THE PUNCH gathered that the meeting was not held at the party’s headquarters located at Zone 5 because the participants did not want their discussions to leak.



A source at the meeting told THE PUNCH that Obasanjo came for the meeting because of reports that the list of candidates from the Fadiro-led faction had been forwarded to INEC by the national leadership of the PDP.



Based on the reports, the former President was said to have sought an explanation from the party on why an order of an Abuja court was disobeyed.



A Federal High Court had last week in Abuja restrained INEC and the PDP from accepting the list of candidates from the Fadairo faction, which is supported by the state Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.



Our correspondents learnt it was during the meeting, Mohammed informed Obasanjo that INEC had accepted the list of candidates from the primaries conducted by the Martins-Kuye faction.



The accepted list has Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd.) as the party’s governorship candidate, and the former President’s daughter, Mrs Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, as the candidate for Ogun Senatorial District.



The other senatorial candidates produced by the Martins-Kuye faction are Chief Babatunde Fadun and Mr. Adetunji Odunowo.



The Daniel faction had produced Mr. Gboyega Isiaka as its governorship candidate and the oldest daughter of the winner of the June 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, Mrs. Lola Abiola- Edewor as the candidate for Ogun Senatorial District.



Daniel and Chief Lai Taiwo clinched the senatorial tickets for Ogun East and Ogun West senatorial districts respectively.



Their names had been forwarded by the PDP to the INEC headquarters on Monday before the sudden U-turn was made public on Tuesday.



Obasanjo, who looked happy after the meeting with the PDP leadership, refused to speak with the journalists, who accosted him.



Also, Mohammed refused to speak on the visit by Obasanjo as he went into a meeting with other members of National Working Committee of the party.



A member of the NWC, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said that the party was not happy with the way INEC handled some of the lists of candidates submitted to it.



After Obasanjo left the Presidential campaign office, INEC Director of Information, Mr. Emmanuel Umenger, said that the commission accepted the list because of the FHC order.



Umenger, in a brief interview with one of our correspondents said, “There is a court order compelling INEC to recognise the faction other than that of Daniel. In the interim, we have to obey the court order; if there is an appeal and a judgment follows, we will obey it.



“For now, there is a court order and INEC as a law abiding institution will obey the order of the court.”



Olurin also confirmed that the electoral body had accepted the list containing his name.



“I have been declared the authentic candidate of the PDP and INEC has confirmed that,” he said.



But Isiaka faulted the claims made by Olurin, describing it as false.



His Personal Assistant on Media, Mr. Bolaji Adeniji, who spoke for him, said, “It is a lie. Isiaka submitted his form in company with a national officer of the PDP and there is no way the INEC can issue certificates to the two of them.”



Abiola-Edewor also faulted Olurin’s claims.



She said, “Isiaka, myself and others have been given the necessary forms and listed as candidates by INEC and it is not possible for INEC to list more than a candidate for a party for the same position.



“What I know is I have collected the forms and others in my group have done the same and INEC had listed us as candidates.”



Investigations revealed that the PDP leadership went back Monday night to produce the list of Martins-Kuye’ faction when the commission cited the court order restraining it from accepting the list from Daniel’s faction.



The confusion over the primaries had worsened last week when both factions claimed that the party headquarters had given them INEC forms to fill.



A source in INEC also said the commission was reconsidering its earlier decision on the list of candidates from Oyo State.



Before the source spoke, the Oyo State chapter of the PDP and the Special Adviser on Public Communications to Alao-Akala , Mr. Dotun Oyelade, had said that governor’s ambition to retain his post was still on course.



Their reactions were sequel to media reports that the PDP might not field candidates in the state during April elections because INEC had rejected the list of candidates from the state.



The list of candidates from the state was reportedly rejected because the state chapter of the party did not complete its congresses.



A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Media and Strategy, Oyo State chapter of the PDP, Dr. Morohunkola Thomas, said the reports were untrue.



He noted that the Oyo PDP list was among the first batch forwarded to INEC by the PDP national headquarters and that INEC had acknowledged receipts of all Oyo PDP candidates, including Alao- Akala.



“Alao-Akala’s governorship election project is absolutely on course and no amount of wuru wuru will derail it,” he added.



Also, Oyelade, said that the media reports were “a continuation of the serial desperation of the opponents to plant confusion when they could not succeed through legitimate means.”



“The candidature of Governor Alao-Akala is unassailable and cannot be taken away by mere wishful thinking,” he said.


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