By Adeyemi Adeleye
The 2023 PDP Governorship Candidate in Lagos State, Dr Abdul-Azeez Adediran (aka Jandor) says outcome of Saturday’s gubernatorial election is shocking and not a reflection of the party’s worth.
Adediran, who reacted to the outcome of the polls at a news conference on Monday at his Campaign Office in Ikeja, vowed to pursue the process to the end before letting out his next step of action.
According to him, election is not an event but a process, as he is ready to follow the process till the end.
The candidate said: “It is so sad to see some leaders trying to force themselves on people.
“We need to let everyone know that Saturday’s election was the end of another process (in INEC timetable for the 2023 elections) and the process continues.
“We will know what action to take when we see the last of this process. We have not seen the last of it. Yes, a supposed winner has been declared but the election is a process not an event.
“So, we will see this to the end before we begin to say what decision we are taking as a party.
“We went into this election against all odds and even against some of our leaders within the PDP.
“We feel so proud that as lone rangers, we were able to stand on our feet and put up a good fight to set Lagos free.”
Highlighting some flaws in the process, Adediran said that the Saturday’s election became like a war, alleging that majority of PDP agents and those of some other political parties were chased away from collation centres.
He said: “Everybody is Lagos saw what happened and knew what happened on the streets of Lagos.
“There were voters’ suppression everywhere, intimidation, harassment, violence, some people were killed while several others harmed in the process of trying to express or exercise their franchise.
“For us, before the election, we tried everything to ensure we bring all threats and compromises to the notice of the security formations in Lagos.”
“We have collected enough evidence to enter into the next process. The process is ongoing and we are going to follow it to a logical conclusion,” he said.
Adediran, who noted that with his brand and the amount of work he put in place, it was shocking to hear that he only polled 3,000 votes in his LGA in Ojo.
The candidate explained that he ran the poll all by himself and his team, saying, “not a single money from the party at the state level or the national level, after Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
He expressed condolences to families of those who lost their lives in the election and sympathised with those who were wounded in the process.
Adediran said that he felt so proud that in the face of huge suppression and rumours about him being a mole in the PDP, he had been able to justify that he was in the race to truly bring a breath of fresh air.
He added that he was still standing “even when some respected leaders, supposedly, in the party had to leave us for crumbs.
“We stayed behind to see this to the last. Even when some left the party to form a false alliance, we stood our ground to see this to fruition.
“I want to commend people of Lagos, all loyal PDP leaders who stayed to see that the election came to a logical conclusion,” he said.
Adediran said that if elections had been free and fair, he would have been the first to issue a congratulatory message to the winner.
He urged the “depressed and demoralised” party loyalists and followers to remain resolute, keep heads up and wait for the next decision.
“I am assuring them that at the end of this process, we will triumph. This is not fighting anybody but exercising our constitution rights. I am here to continue to lead,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC on Monday morning, declared Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner in the election, haven polled 762,134 votes in the election to defeat 15 other contestants.
Sanwo-Olu polled 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rival of the Labour Party, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour who scored 312,329 votes in the election.
The PDP candidate, garnered 62,449 votes to come third in the poll. (NAN)