ADC urges supporters to ignore Bello’s allegations against Abejide

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State took another twist, yesterday, when former deputy governor, Abayomi Awoniyi, officially dumped the party.

Awoniyi, who served as deputy to former Governor Idris Wada, conveyed his resignation in a letter addressed to the Chairman of PDP in Mopamuro Local Council dated August 31, 2023.

Though he has not officially indicated his next line of action, and did not give specific reasons for his exit from the PDP, his resignation might not be unconnected with his dissatisfaction with the last governorship primary, an exercise he termed a “farce”.

There are also strong indications that he will be joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) very soon. The letter released to the media, yesterday, reads: “I hereby write to tender my letter of resignation from the PDP after 25 unbroken years of loyal and dedicated membership and service.

“With this resignation, I cease to be a member of PDP. Kindly convey my sincere gratitude to the party faithful in Mopamuro Local Council, Kogi West Senatorial District, and indeed the entire state, through your fellow local council Party chairmen, for their support and camaraderie, over the years.

“I look forward to our continued friendship, despite no longer being members of the same political party,” Awoniyi was among the aspirants that expressed displeasure over the conduct of the PDP governorship primary, as there were widespread allegations of manipulation against the candidate of the party.

MEANWHILE, the National Chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Ralphs Nwosu, has admonished party faithful and the electorate in Kogi to remain calm in view of the plot to arrest and detain ADC governorship candidate, Leke Abejide, under spurious charges.

Nwosu spoke, yesterday, in Abuja following the complaints filed at the Lokoja Magistrate Court by former chairman of ADC in the state, Kingsley Ogga. In the petition, Ogga alleged criminal intimidation and threat to his life by Abejide, in what was viewed in the opposition ADC camp as a sponsored ploy to arrest and possibly detain the ADC candidate under trumped up charges to distract him and derail his campaign.

In a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, the ADC boss noted that the plot was hatched by the state government to derail the ADC campaign for the November 11 governorship election using an insider as a pawn.

The statement reads: “As a law-abiding political party, we wish to call the attention of the general public and law enforcement agencies to the state government’s evil plot to truncate Abejide’s campaign. Agents of the state governor have been in the habit of disrupting activities of ADC members and campaigns. Our members and campaign managers are regularly being threatened and harassed with spurious allegations.”

“Leaders of our party in Kogi and the national level have had to go and rescue and bail our members and numerous volunteers without making noise about it.”

According to ADC, the agents have filed cases with the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain Abejide for the period of electioneering, if he cedes to their invitation.

It added: “While we invite President Bola Tinubu to help in building peace in Kogi ahead of the November governorship election in the state, ADC will continue on its campaign diligently following its strategic dashboard and compass.”