Ajibola: Abuja has final say – Kwara PDP

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state met yesterday on the controversies trailing the emergence of Senator Simon S. Ajibola as the party’s gubernatorial candidate and resolved that Abuja had the final say over the matter.
The party’s spokesman, Chief Rex Olawoye, who spoke with newsmen after an executive meeting of the party, said the leaders met to appraise the outcome of the party’s gubernatorial primaries amidst fears that the outcome might be reviewed by the party’s national secretariat at Abuja.

Olawoye, who said there was no crisis within the party, however, said there were fears being already expressed by some stakeholders within the party that the outcome of the primaries which produced Senator Ajibola as gubernatorial candidate would be subject to the final decision of the party’s national secretariat.
He said: “We have an executive meeting today to appraise the primaries so that we can take position on issues and you know some hoodlums could come  to demonstrate as reaction to the loss by their principal so that’s why we asked the police to come and be here to keep them at bay. We need to meet and review things; if there is modification that can come later and if not we go ahead.”

The meeting was held under heavy security with about 20 mobile policemen stationed at the entrance of the party’s secretariat along Asa Dam Road, Ilorin.
Meanwhile, members of The Freedom Group in the has warned against any planned substitution of another candidate for the gubernatorial ticket and dismissed religious arguments being allegedly raised against the candidature of Senator Simon Ajibola who won the gubernatorial primaries.
A statement signed by Tajudeen Kareem, Director of Publicity for the group said: “We wish that in the interest of democracy, freedom of choice and peace in our   party, nothing is done to tamper with Senator Ajibola’s mandate. Any attempt to manipulate the outcome of the governorship election supervised by Governor Gabriel Suswam is a recipe for electoral disaster for the PDP in Kwara state.”