Chinelo Obogo
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ademola Adeleke and his rival, Akin Ogubiyi, have sheathed their swords and signed a peace pact to work together for the progress of the party in the forthcoming September 22 poll.
The signing of the pact took place in Abuja at the instance of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is also the chairman of the party’s governorship campaign team.
The governorship primary which held on July 21 created much controversy following Adeleke’s emergence as the party’s standard bearer.
Ogubiyi, who was defeated by one vote, alleged bias, accusing the party of denying him a level playing ground in favour of Adeleke.
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He subsequently dragged the party and its candidate to court, alleging that Adeleke had forged his senior secondary school school certificate and should be disqualified. Ogubiyi later withdrew his suit following the intervention of the party.
Yesterday’s signing of the agreement between the former rivals was announced on Wednesday on the official Twitter handle of Senator Saraki. He said:
“Following marathon meetings today in Abuja, I am pleased to announce that we have a signed agreement between PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senator Adeleke and his rival, Dr. Ogunbiyi.
“As we approach the September 22, 2018 governorship election, our party moves forward as one.”
Saraki also posted pictures of Ogunbiyi and Adeleke while signing the agreement. Adeleke, a serving senator, is the main challenger to the candidate of the APC, Gboyega Oyetola.