Chinelo Obogo

The Lagos State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that its governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, exploited the party and its members at the 2019 polls.

At a press conference in Lagos recently, the state chairman of the party, Dr. Adegbola Dominic, alongside the political adviser to Chief George, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, said Agbaje ran the 2019 governorship election unprepared to win.

Agbaje had recently alleged that Chief George was behind the speculations of his exit from PDP, saying that such speculations could have only emanated from a “sick mind.”

But Dominic and Shodipe-Dosumu said that Agbaje won the ticket of the party against the wishes of many party leaders, yet he was supported by all including George.

They also alleged that Agbaje misused the 2019 election campaign funds for his personal gain while he sidelined the party structure.

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“During the governorship primary, many of the party leaders didn’t want Jimi Agbaje because he only appears at the party every four years, but with the interference from outside the state, he eventually emerged the party’s candidate.

“But I could sense it from Agbaje’s attitude before, during and after election that he was not prepared to win and the people of Lagos had deserted him. No wonder the money that was meant for election campaigns, he used it for his personal gain.

“We invited him to let us run the campaign, he was dodging. As the chairman, he didn’t invite me for any campaign rally. He was doing a Town Hall meeting which was not even well attended.

“We invited him and advised him on how to run the campaign but he shunned the party leaders. It was obvious he didn’t come to win. During the presidential election, people voted massively for Atiku Abubakar but when it came to governorship election, we lost woefully.

“Many of us did not support him because we knew the kind of character he is. Immediately after the 2015 election, he disappeared and came back in 2019. We still supported him but he obviously didn’t want to win,” Dominic said.

According to Shodipe-Dosunmu, the statement attributed to Agbaje was “disgusting,” saying: “Referring to an elder, your greatest benefactor in PDP as somebody that has a sick mind is tragic, unacceptable, unbecoming of somebody brought up in the Yoruba tradition.”