Jonathan may lose in Ondo – PDP candidates

The political differences inherent in the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party may ruin the winning chances of President Goodluck Jonathan in the state in next year’s general elections, aggrieved politicians in the state have warned.

According to them, Jonathan should forget about winning in Ondo if the State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, fails to abide by court orders restraining him from carrying out activities that were counter-productive to the PDP.

The Chairman, Ondo PDP Candidates Forum and a contestant for the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Adekanmbi, told journalists on Tuesday in Abuja that members of the group were aggrieved with the manner in which Mimiko was going about the state’s political affairs in preparation for next year’s general elections.

He noted that although the group was not against Mimiko, the PDP would not garner the targeted one million votes for Jonathan if the state governor fails to work with the aggrieved candidates.

Adekanmbi said, “Dr. Mimiko can never solely win Ondo State for Mr. President. The President needs Chief Jimoh Ibrahim and other contestants for him to win. If he relies on Mimiko the PDP will lose in Ondo because right now salaries have not been paid for the past three months in our state.

“People are not happy with him (Mimiko) and he cannot even walk freely on the streets of Ondo State. So is he the one to canvass for votes for the President? We don’t think so. He is still our leader but has to work with candidates to succeed. We say this because he has failed to do the right thing, which is to bring everybody together.”

Adekanmbi said the party’s primaries had been concluded and candidates for elective positions elected, but wondered why the governor would present another set of candidates who were allegedly not elected by party delegates.

He said, “We are not fighting the person of Governor Mimiko who is the leader of the party in the state. What we are fighting is the system of how we do things in the PDP, particularly in Ondo, because our party is different from Labour Party.

“As of today we have a court judgment delivered by Justice Ademola and we have a court order which came in last Thursday. But unfortunately, for the past one week Mr. Mimiko has practically made the INEC office his government house, all in a bid to induce the commission and to make it publish the names of his candidates thereby flouting completely and disobeying court orders.”

He added that it was embarrassing for a governor not to respect court orders, but expressed the belief that INEC would do justice when it comes to publishing the names of eligible contestants in Ondo State.