Abdulazeez Adediran, ex-governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, says the party pulled the rug from underneath his feet on the eve of the state’s gubernatorial poll.
On Monday, Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, resigned from the PDP, citing indiscipline and anti-party activities within the party.
Speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, Jandor said save for the Peter Obi factor in Lagos, he would have won the state’s governorship election.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, won in Lagos, defeating Bola Tinubu, a former governor of the state and the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The result is considered one of the biggest upsets from the presidential election.
“I was disappointed by the PDP at the national level. Let me tell you what happened on the eve of the election,” Jandor said.
“The state party chairman of PDP in Lagos state issued a release speaking to a forced alliance that never happened and said that we had withdrawn from the race. We had not withdrawn from the race.
“This was done to make sure that we did not go anywhere. And it’s not about me. They did this to Musiliu Obanikoro, Jimi Agbaje (twice) and Funsho Williams. It was not just about Jandor. What they did was not just because it was Jandor. This has been their stock-in-trade.”
The politician said his campaign had gained strong momentum before the election, but an unexpected shift in voter dynamics changed the outcome.
“Before the February 25th general election, we were on the streets of Lagos and the ruling party was nowhere to be found,” he added.
“We had several debates and he (Sanwo-Olu) didn’t show up and didn’t want to share a stage with me.
“The 2023 election came with its dynamics, and it was a two-horse race until the presidential election. If you look at what happened in the presidential election, Peter Obi came first (in Lagos), Asiwaju came second, and Atiku came third.
“The moment that happened, there was this belief that if we do this, we can get this state off XYZ. So, we were victims of that.
“Each time I address my people, I tell them: look, we did everything but that wave came and swallowed the whole thing; nobody saw that coming.”
Jandor, however, said he would consider joining any of the other political parties to realise his 2027 governorship dream.
“APC is one of the 17 (parties) that is left. A coalition is coming in Nigeria. Other political parties are there. Labour Party is also an option, it is part of the 17, SDP is also there,” he said.
“We have chosen this path; we are not deviating. It is only God that can determine who and when. This is the path that we have chosen.”
Jandor finished third in the 2023 election with 62,449 votes, behind Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC who secured 762,134 votes. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the LP garnered 312,329 votes.
