Factional Osun PDP guber candidate, Babayemi, hopeful INEC’ll drop Adeleke’s name

Dotun Babayemi, a gubernatorial aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election in Osun State, has stated that the list provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the Osun gubernatorial polls on Saturday, July 16, does not bother him.

Kayode Oladeji, the Director, Media of Babayemi’s campaign organisation, spoke in a statement on Thursday in response to the INEC’s list.

While Babayemi stated that he had unwavering faith in the ongoing judicial process, he also stated that the people’s will would prevail and that he would be vindicated in the end.

According to INEC’s schedule, the last day for the Commission to publish the final list of nominated candidates is June 16, 2022, he clarified.

“There is nothing final about the list and I am sure that somebody somewhere knows that. It is only the uninformed that can think it is the end of the process because it is on INEC’s timetable; the list published is just the submission by various parties.

Read also: Adeleke wins battle for Osun PDP guber ticket, as INEC includes name in list of candidates

“Fortunately, there is a window of opportunity provided by the new Electoral Act and that is what we are exploring because we believe in the rule of law. Everything you are seeing are tailor-made processes which are amenable to changes when the need arises on account of judicial pronouncements,” Babayemi stated.

He explained that INEC, as a government institution, respects the rule of law and will operate in accordance with the court’s rulings on the matters at hand.

He further told the inhabitants of the state that he would succeed in court, while urging the PDP members in the state to be calm and not take the law into their own hands.

On Tuesday, Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the ticket to represent the party during the upcoming Osun State governorship election scheduled for July 16.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had unveiled the final list of candidates for the election, with Adeleke making the final cut.

Babayemi, a rival of Adeleke, after parallel primaries conducted by the two factions had emerged victorious.

Adeleke was victorious at a primary held at Osogbo Township Stadium, supervised by the PDP primary election committee.

At a parallel primary, Babayemi emerged victorious at WOCDIF Centre, Ring Road, Osogbo.

The aftermath led to a court judgement that declared that Babayemi was the authentic gubernatorial candidate of the party.

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