Why I quit PDP – Jandor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the last general elections in Lagos state, Mr Olajide Adediran, aka Jandor and members of his caucus “Lagos for Lagos” on Monday resigned their membership of the party.

Addressing the press at his campaign office on Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, Jandor said the decision to dump the PDP was taken because despite the allegations made against some leaders of the party that they worked against the interest of the party in the last general elections, the leadership of the party at the state and national levels failed to look into the allegations.

He stated further that, instead of the party national executive to look into the allegations made, they appointed the leader in question as the deputy chairman  of the disciplinary committee. 

Jandor noted that the development made him and his members to lose interest in the party.

Adediran stated that the matter was made worse that, during his campaign, him and those on his campaign entourage were attacked by the opponents and some of his members were wounded, but his party was quiet on the development, because none of its leadership rose to condemn the action, which showed that he was not wanted in the party.

“I stand before you today with a heavy heart, but a clear conscience. We have dedicated ourselves to the ideals of democracy, good governance, and the pursuit of a better Lagos. However, it has become evident that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, both at the state and national levels, has failed to uphold these principles.

“The persistent anti-party activities, internal sabotage, and lack of discipline within the party have severely undermined our collective efforts and made it impossible for genuine progress to be achieved. 

“As the governorship candidate in the 2023 election, we ran a campaign based on transformation, development, and the desire for positive change. But unfortunately, the internal betrayals and lack of commitment from the party leadership hindered our chances and left many of our supporters bewildered and disillusioned. 

“Today makes it 15 days to exactly 2 years that I contested for the office of governor of Lagos state. During that electioneering process, we enjoyed passionate and unwavering support from party loyalists, especially at the grassroots. However, some leaders within the party saw our candidacy as a threat to their daily bread. 

“We were attacked at six different times during the campaign  and neither the state chairman of the party nor any leader issued a statement condemning such attacks. A few days to the election, the supposed leader of the party in Lagos state, Chief Olabode George, who had earlier publicly campaigned against the presidential candidate of the PDP, openly declared support for the gubernatorial candidate of another party at a press conference, and also advised Lagosians not to vote for the party he claimed to be leading as a member of the Board of Trustees.