The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 2019 election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has denied reports that he has dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos Wednesday, Agbaje’s media aide, Mr. Felix Oboagwina, said that social media posts that Agbaje had left the PDP to join the APC were untrue.
NAN reported that the posts that Agbaje had joined APC have featured prominently on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook in the past few days.
One of the posts sighted by a NAN political correspondent both on WhatsApp and Facebook on Wednesday read “Lagos PDP finally emptied as Jimi Agbaje defects to APC’’.
Reacting, Oboagwina described the reports as fake news, saying they were figments of the imaginations of the authors.
He said that Agbaje was still very much in PDP and that there was no way he could have joined APC on social media.
“There is nothing like that, nothing like that at all. He is still in PDP; he has not defected.
“How can people say he has defected on social media? He is too big for that; he is in PDP,” Oboagwina said.
When asked if there were plans by his principal to dump the PDP for APC, he answered in the negative.
This is not the first time Agbaje is debunking reports that he had dumped the PDP for APC.
Shortly after the governorship election in March, which he lost to Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu of APC, reports went viral that Agbaje had dumped the PDP for APC over differences with party elders.
However, the PDP candidate swiftly through a press statement issued by Oboagwina, who was Director of Media of his campaign organisation, denied the reports.
The PDP governorship candidate said the “rumour’’ was the handiwork of people he called mischief makers and vowed not to leave the party.
“I will remain in PDP despite the campaign of calumny being waged against me in the media by a few elders.
“For a party that has twice accorded me the honour of running on its platform, it should be regarded as uncharitable to say I am abandoning the party, ‘’ he had said.
Agbaje also dismissed the allegation of mismanagement of campaign funds by some party elders, saying he spent the money according to directives from the national secretariat.
The Lagos PDP has been enmeshed in leadership crisis lately, giving room for all kinds of speculations and leading to some defections. (NAN)
