Osun: Late Adeleke’s younger brother emerges PDP candidate

The younger brother of late  Sen. Isiaka Adeleke, Demola, has emerged the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Osun West Senatorial  District bye-election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adeleke,  who had been cleared to contest for the primary on the platform of APC,  defected to PDP on Tuesday evening.

Adeleke was set to contest the primary in APC unopposed  after his opponent,  Sen. Mudashiru Husain, was disqualified on Sunday by the APC screening committee headed by Zamfara Assembly Speaker, Sanusi Rikiji.

Hussein was disqualified by the committee which stated that he was  still in active public service against the stipulated party’s guideline.

According to Rikiji, the party’s   guideline stipulates that any aspirant that wants to contest an elective office is expected to have resigned from the public service 30 days before the primries.

Hussein was the  Commissioner for Cabinet Matters  in the Rauf Aregbesola administration  which was inaugurated on  May 30.

The disqualification was upheld by the Appeal Committee of the party headed by Abdulahi Bello.

Hussein was, however, cleared  on Monday evening by  the National Working Committee of  the APC to contest the primary.

Adeleke,  who contested the PDP primary  unopposed on Wednesday in Iwo Local Government Area of the state,  scored 343 votes. In his acceptance speech, Adeleke said the PDP would win the election.

” I accepted  to contest the election under PDP and come July 8, we shall have victory. ” Victory shall be ours and nothing can stop us. We are moving forward because it is God’s project,’’ he said.

The PDP Chairman in the state, Mr Soji Adagunodo, said the party would win the bye-election.

According to him, there is no faction in PDP but only aggrieved members.” We are going to win the election and come 2018, we will still win,’’ he said.

NAN also reports that  Independent National Electoral Commission   has  fixed July 8 for the bye-election following the  vacuum created by the death of  Sen. Adeleke on April 23