The Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, has withdrawn from the upcoming governorship primary election.
Jegede previously ran as the PDP candidate in the 2016 and 2020 elections but was defeated by the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress.
In a statement in Akure on Thursday, Jegede expressed his dedication to making sacrifices to help address the party’s issues.
“After several intensive and extensive consultations, consolidations, and reconsiderations, it became obvious that we need to reexamine whether to proceed or take a detour that could guarantee an alignment with the preponderance of opinion in terms of the quest for equitable representation, equity, and fair play particularly at the level of governorship.
“Our party constitution is not receptive to zoning and this has been demonstrated through the election of successive governors; the elections were not based on zoning but on merit.
“A decision has to be taken whether we need to repeat the same process that we passed through in 2016 and 2020.
“We have an array of governorship aspirants who are competent and distinguished in their various callings.
“I feel it is time to allow these men the opportunity to try their luck in the primary and by God’s grace, ultimately win the governorship election; all the aspirants would be accorded every support that is available at my disposal”, he said.
Jegede added that, “I am committed to making all necessary sacrifices to provide solutions to the problems of the party rather than join in compounding it.”
Allub Times reports that four candidates have purchased the party’s Expression of Interest form for N5 million and Nomination Form for N35 million.
