A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Umar Sani, has accused Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of hindering the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from selecting a candidate for the state’s upcoming gubernatorial elections.

While speaking with Arise News on Friday, Sani noted that Adeleke was more focused on his own political ambitions and acting in his own interest, rather than that of the PDP, of which he was a member.

“Governor Adeleke does not want PDP to field a candidate. He believes that there is a problem within the PDP, whose signature will be recognised by INEC and so forth and so on.”

Adeleke resigned from the PDP on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the PDP Osun governorship primary election. He cited the party’s internal crisis as justification for his resignation. He has yet to announce the new political party he would join following his resignation. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, has disclosed that Governor Ademola Adeleke will officially announce his new political party before December 13.

There are, however, speculations that Adeleke will defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) just as many sitting governors and other politicians have done in recent times. Sani added that Adeleke plans to move to another party and return to the PDP after winning the election, a move he said the PDP would not accept.

“He’s trying to move to another party, and according to him, that he will now get the seat and then return back to PDP. And PDP says, no, we cannot do that. What we want is we want somebody to run on our platform. Because what will the party look like if we have a platform and we do not use anybody on that platform? Then how will other people be reacting to other platforms?

“They will run away and give the same excuse. Let me go and get something from somewhere else and come back. So we said, no, anybody who wants to contest must use our platform. And so that’s why we conducted, it was not hijacked by anybody, it was done peacefully, it was all over the social media, it was done peacefully,” said Sani.

The PDP chieftain, however, did not fault Adeleke’s decision and potential defection, adding that he holds the constitutional right to decide which political party he wishes to join. He, however, added that Adeleke should not prevent the PDP from moving forward and selecting a candidate as a result of his actions.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not supposed to support or oppose his decision,” he said. “His decision is entirely his. He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches most. So if he decides to go, then he should not allow the party that he’s leaving not to field another candidate in his own place.

“Nobody is saying he cannot go. It’s a constitutional right for him to go anywhere he wants to go. But let him not also be a stumbling block to our own party fielding a candidate. That is just the major argument. It is not about whether his going is right or wrong or whether it was a smart move to move somewhere else.”