Four days to election PDP Assembly candidate dumps party, endorses Abiodun. Solomon Enilolobo, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ogun State House of Assembly race for Abeokuta South State Constituency 1, has abandoned his candidacy and endorsed Dapo Abiodun’s bid for reelection.
When leading his supporters to the governor’s home in Iperu-Remo to switch parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Enilolobo announced his decision to withdraw from the House of Assembly race that was set to take place on Saturday. He claimed that the PDP in Ogun was not only lawless but completely disregarded the Rule of Law.
“PDP is a sinking ship, its wake keep had been completed and would be completely laid to rest on Saturday, March 18,” he claimed.
“I learned that the party is lawless, it disobeys court orders, and it treats the court with contempt, therefore I understood that I can no longer stay with such a party,” he continued. And for that reason, after holding several discussions with my group, we came to the conclusion that we should abandon ship as it was already sinking.
We are aware that the wake has been held and the ultimate burial will take place on Saturday.
Enilolobo identified himself as the former Abeokuta South State Constituency 1 House of Assembly candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, whose name was changed by the organization after he was declared the winner of the Centenary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta, primary elections.
He claimed to be perplexed that his name hadn’t been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), so he went to court and won the case, but the party persisted in its position.
“On May 22, 2022, at the Centenary Hall, we had our primary elections. Ake and I were named the winners. The police and the Department of State Security Service were present, but when I arrived at INEC, I discovered that my name had not been submitted there.
“So I went to court, and on September 26 Judge G. O. Abdul-Malik issued the decision and declared me the victor. He advised PDP to provide my name to INEC so they could publicize it.
But after a month or two, I still hadn’t seen the publishing on INEC’s website, so I went back to court for a contempt of court case. When we arrived at the court, we discovered that on January 30, 2023, INEC had finally posted my name online.
We received a certified genuine copy of that publication on February 8th, 2023, but to my surprise, a few days later, we noticed INEC acting in a different way. When I looked into it, I discovered that the same party was still responsible, according to Enilolobo.
We’ve seen the fantastic works you’ve been doing, I reside in Idi-Aba and I walk by the estate, we can see all the nice works, the governor said while praising him for his Midas touch around the state. We have personally witnessed these issues in Oke-Jigbo and Isale-Ake, two locations in my constituency, and we are certain that by working together with you, we will be able to improve the situation.
In response, Governor Abiodun praised Enilolobo and his group for having the guts to defect to the state’s governing All Progressives Congress from their previous party while pointing out that both his government and the APC in the state uphold the law.
Abiodun commended the defector’s willingness to stand up for what is right and further stated that his administration and team had a strong commitment to equity and the rule of law.
And based on what you’ve stated, it is clear that you are a really principled person who has come because of your convictions and what you stand for. You came to the realization that where you were was not where you ought to be; you cannot continue to be perceived as being in a place where the rule of law is not respected, nor can you continue to be in a place where democratic values are not respected.
I want to commend and honor you for your bravery, for standing up for what you think is right and refusing to participate in what is wrong.
We as a team, he said, “believe in the rule of law, justice, and equity, and we find this kind of behavior to be wholly bizarre and something that we will not even tolerate.
The governor said that they wouldn’t regret their choice after assuring Enilolobo and his crew that they would receive the consideration, respect, and rights they are due.
