James Sowole in Akure
The second runner-up in the September 3 All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial primary election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke on Saturday defected from the party to the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
Oke’s declaration came against the backdrop of his dissatisfaction with the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC which submitted the name of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) as the candidate of the party despite the complaints of Oke and two other aggrieved aspirants of the party.
The former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) joined the APC few days after the 2015 Presidential election was lost by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. He came third in the APC primary won by Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, while Dr. Olusegun Abraham came second in an election that tore the party apart. Oke’s declaration has laid to rest speculations that he was planning to dump APC for another party to realise his governorship ambition.
Speaking with supporters across the 18 local government areas in the state in his residence, Oke stated that his defection was necessitated by the injustice perpetrated by some leaders of the party over the primary election of the party.
He explained that he waited patiently for the leaders to correct the injustice before opting out of the party.
Oke who said he took the decision to dump the party after due consultations with some APC leaders and supporters across the country, disclosed that he would contest the forthcoming November 26 governorship election on the platform of AD.
He said he was contesting for the governorship seat in the forthcoming election to rescue the people of Ondo state from underdevelopment, describing AD as home of the progressives.
The former PDP adviser said “I confess to you that the dream of the founders of APC is good and laudable. The philosophy behind APC is good but unfortunately some cabal hijacked the soul of the party at the national level.
They have enthroned injustice over justice, inequality over equity, unfairness over fairness, and therefore they made it impossible for true change to be actualised this time on the platform of APC.
“I stand on the side of the people of Ondo state; I represent their dreams and vision for a new order in Ondo state. I am a compatriot who believes that we must not allow the status quo to prevail.”
Despite leaving APC, Oke promised to continue to relate with some leaders of APC who tow line of justice during the crisis in the party in Ondo state.
