The trio, Dr Olusegun Abraham, who came second in the primary; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2012 governorship election in the state, Chief Olusola Oke; and a lawmaker representing Ondo North at the Senate, Professor Ajayi Boroffice, were ready to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is coming on the heels of the crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the party over the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state, which took another dimension on Friday, as three of its leading aspirants in the primary election appeared set to dump the party.
Speaking during a joint press conference in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the spokesman of the trio, Senator Boroffice, said, “We are widely consulting and would make public the next line of action that will liberate our people from the present state of hopelessness and despair.”
The aspirants, frowning at an alleged undemocratic behaviour of the party leadership over its decision to pick Akeredolu as the party’s candidate, specifically pointed an accusing finger at the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, whom they accused of overruling the decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
“The Appeal Committee, within the mandate of their authority, having regard to the preponderance of evidence laid before it, recommended that the election be nullified and another election be conducted. The majority of the members of the NWC voted that the recommendations of the Appeal committee be upheld.
“To our dismay and in a manner at variance with democratic norms, the national chairman overruled the majority of the NWC. He rejected the path of truth and upheld the primary election whose process was characterised by corruption.
“Let it be known that we are not deterred by the action of the NWC and the undemocratic behaviour of the national chairman. We are encouraged by the genuine desire of the people of Ondo State for a change that will free them from the economic captivity of the present administration in the state.
“We are determined to liberate our people, and no undemocratic decision of a party and its leadership will be allowed to misdirect our attention from the goal. We condemn in absolute terms the undemocratic decision of the NWC.
“Since our party and the official leaders of the party have found pleasure in covering fraud, we owe the people of Ondo State a sacred duty of liberation. This we are committed to and this we shall do. In the days ahead, we shall consult widely and make public the next line of action that will liberate our people from the present state of hopelessness and despair,” Boroffice said.
