South West PDP Chairman Condemns Unauthorised Selection Of Candidates
The South West Zonal Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Engr. Adedeji Doherty, has strongly condemned any unauthorised processes aimed at selecting candidates for the party ahead of the 2027 general elections across the six states in the zone.
In a statement personally signed by him, Doherty warned that individuals engaging in such actions are overstepping their bounds.
He emphasized that the recognised national leadership of the party, led by Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, have not issued any directive authorising candidate selection at this stage.
Doherty made specific reference to reports from Oyo State, where Governor Seyi Makinde was alleged to have claimed the selection of certain individuals as consensus candidates for the party.
He described Makinde’s action as misleading, misguided, and entirely false.
According to him, both the zonal and state chapters are still awaiting official guidelines from the party’s national headquarters at Wadata Plaza.
He noted that it is premature and inappropriate for anyone to compile a list of candidates when nomination forms for the 2027 elections have not yet been sold .
The zonal chairman further stressed that any attempt to sideline legitimate aspirants or create division within the party would not be tolerated by the National and Zonal leadership.
He warned that such actions could destabilise party structures at the state level.Doherty also directed the Professor Abdulraham Akinoso-led State Executive Committee to disregard what he described as a “kangaroo selection process,” alleging that the move was intended to mislead party supporters in the state.
He said the governor had only staged the kangaroo selection to give vain hope to his followers that he had misled to fighting the party the same way he sacrificed virtually all the National Assembly candidates in the 2023 elections to the rival All Progressive Congress (APC) in Oyo State.
He accused the governor of repeating patterns that, in his view, contributed to the party’s poor performance in the 2023 National Assembly elections.
The National Vice Chairman of the Zone, however, advised the Oyo State Governor to stop meddling with faithful PDP members political careers in his state but rather focus on delivering Legacy projects that will keep the good people of Oyo State praying for him when his tenure is over.
“The compensation due to the victims of the Ibadan bomb blast, the compensation due to the victims whose properties were demolished due to government projects, prompt payments to contractors that are in debt due to non-payment on delivered projects and the necessary reconciliation needed to be done between the unfortunate victims of various anti-people policies meted out by the Seyi Makinde administration under the so called Omituntun Agenda! All these and more should be his focus rather than his continued creation and fanning of crises in our party in Oyo State and other Southwest States”, says Doherty.
He concluded by urging party executives including serious members of the party who wish to contest during the 2027 elections to resist any unauthorised activities that could jeopardise their legitimate aspirations.
Aspirants, he advised, should remain patient and adhere strictly to the timelines and procedures that will be communicated by the party’s national leadership.
Doherty said that participating in any party election selection process outside that directed by the Zone out of ignorance would be seen as an open disregard to the National leadership of the party.
To be candidates, everyone should therefore be warned that the ,Prof Akinoso-led Executive Committee remains the legal PDP Exco in the Oyo State.
