From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
A governorship aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osun State, Omooba Dotun Babayemi, yesterday tackled the party over claims he is being used to truncate the victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke.
The Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the party in the state, Dr Adekunle Akindele, has warned Babayemi to rescind his decision to claim his mandate at the Supreme Court, saying that he is becoming a tool of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to truncate the victory of PDP at the governorship poll.
But, the Campaign Organization of Omooba Dotun Babayemi, in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo, Sunday, explained that the redress currently being sought at the law court by Babayemi is not to truncate the victory of the PDP but to ensure it translates to good governance.
The statement maintained that Babayemi was out for justice to claim his mandate, saying “having explored all internal mechanisms of the party to no avail, the option left as spelt by the party’s constitution is to seek justice through the judiciary.
“Our symbol, Omooba Dotun Babayemi is not seeking to truncate PDP’s victory but he’s out for justice, seeking ta o claim his mandate at the law court. Is such a lawful trajectory out of place? For all those who are now crying wolf, what genuine efforts did they make to ensure the PDP is not exposed to litigation?
“Why would Akindele and those in his mould choose to approbate and reprobate at the same time. Just recently, the Dr Adekunle Akindele-led Caretaker Committee was removed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, PDP, but went to the law court to stop the party from replacing them with a more non-factional Caretaker Committee for Osun State PDP. This Committee headed by Akindele is the one serving as a tool now being used to subvert the legitimate wheels of justice.
“We would like to inform the whole world that Omooba Dotun Babayemi has continued to pursue the good of the PDP at every level of engagement; he has continued to invest his time and money for its success and the good of the people of Osun.
“In any democratic setting, the winner-takes-all syndrome has always been harmful in the long run. When the Eyitayo Jegede SAN-led Reconciliation Committee came, we laid our cards bare open. At a point, Babayemi offered to forego his governorship ambition if the other group was willing to come to the table with genuine intent to partner with both sides. The efforts at reconciliation were rebuffed and rejected.