Ogun PDP Factional Chairman, Bayo Dayo, Hails INEC Recognition

The factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State loyal to Senator Buruji Kashamu, has hailed the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recognising him as the authentic Chairman of the party and adopting his list of candidates for the 2019 general election.

Breaking News: INEC admits BURUJI faction's list in Ogun PDP! To publish the names of the candidates loyal to Buruji/Bayo Dayo led state exco. pic.twitter.com/B9YhUuEHwO

— Dozen Odedina (@dozenhost) October 30, 2018

Chief Bayo Dayo made this known in Abeokuta, Ogun State while reacting to the INEC letter directed to the National headquarters of the PDP, intimating the party of its decision about the list from Ogun State and why the Bayo Dayo led faction was recognised.

Meanwhile, the PDP has faulted the decision of INEC to recognise only candidates submitted to it by the camp loyal to Kashamu, representing Ogun East Senatorial District.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned that INEC could not take a list from elsewhere after it had already acknowledged the list of candidates submitted to it by the national leadership of the party.

He described the decision of the commission to accept a list from Dayo’s camp as strange and alien to the extant laws because only the national secretary of a party by law can submit candidates’ list.

He said: “If INEC claimed that it collected any list outside what the national secretariat of PDP submitted to it, it is a huge compromise. And we say so according to our statutes and all the laws governing elections in Nigeria, INEC cannot take a list from a state of the party. INEC takes list from the national headquarters of the party.”

“So, if it claimed that it had gone to take any list from anywhere, it is unknown to us and it is unknown to the rule guiding elections in Nigeria.”They acknowledged all the names that we submitted to them. So, it is to totally strange, unknown to the rules and unknown to the PDP that INEC is claiming that it has another list. We are not aware.”