Senator Buruji Kashamu has urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to respect the court judgment pronouncing him the party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State.
Mr Kashamu is representing Ogun East senatorial district at the National Assembly.
Kashamu spoke with newsmen on Saturday in Lagos in reaction to a statement credited to the party’s spokesperson, Kola Ologbodiyan, that the PDP would only recognise Ladi Adebutu as candidate.
“I am the lawful governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State for now. I am the candidate known to the law and the majority of party leaders and members.
“I am God’s candidate and the candidate of the masses,” Kashamu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that both Mr Adebutu, a member of the House of Representatives, and Kashamu had been locked in litigation over the party’s ticket as they both emerged from two parallel congresses.
But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on January 17 published the names of National Assembly candidates who belong to the Bayo Dayo-led state executive as the right PDP candidates in Ogun.
Kashamu emerged from the congress conducted by the Dayo-led group while Adebutu emerged from the congress conducted by the Sikirulai Ogundele-led faction and backed by the NWC.
INEC National Commissioner for Information, Media and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, had said on Wednesday in Abeokuta that the commission published candidates in Kashamu’s camp in compliance with a subsisting court judgment pronouncing them as the right candidates.
“The judgment asked us to recognise the list of candidates submitted by a faction of PDP in Ogun State.
“We have recognised candidates submitted by that political party and we have published the names recognised by the courts,’’ Mr Okoye said.
(NAN)
