How Jandor Fell Out With PDP Governors, Party Elders In Lagos

The alleged reason the relationship between the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor with some Governors of the party turned sour has emerged.

This is coming days after the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike endorsed the Lagos State Governor and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term.

The development had stirred reactions online and questions were raised on why Wike would support Sanwo-Olu against his party’s candidate.

Five PDP Governors in January 2022, Seyi Makinde (Oyo State); Okezie Ikpeazu, (Abia State); Udom Emman­uel (Akwa Ibom), Ifeanyi Ug­wuanyi (Enugu) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and some other stakeholders of the party had attended the rally where Jandor, a former chief­tain of APC was received into the PDP.

However, there are indications that the possibility of the PDP taking over Lagos State in 2023 might have been dashed.

Sources that spoke with Daily Independent on why Jandor’s relationship with the PDP governors turned sour said the PDP candidate unilaterally picked his running mate without consultation.

A member of the State Working Committee who spoke on condition of anonymity said Jandor did not consult elders in the party including Chief Bode George before choosing Funke Akindele as his running mate.

According to the source, “I won’t lie to you all is not well within the party but we are trying to manage the situation. Honestly, others may be sur­prised but Governor Wike’s ac­tion didn’t come as a surprise to me because they have seen that he is not what he claims to be.

“When he joined us from APC, he told the PDP gover­nors that he has 15 million supporters who are ready to come with him to PDP.

“On the day of the rally, the governors were shocked and kept asking ‘where is the 15 million mem­bers?’ I remembered Governor Seyi Makinde angrily saying that if they don’t finish the programme in 10 minutes, they will leave as they have other engagements. The governors were hugely disappointed.”

The source also noted that Chief George during a recent interview disclosed that Jandor lied to him on the issue of his running mate.

He stated that Jandor after agreeing to work with Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, one of the gov­ernorship aspirants, reneged on his promises and informed the party leaders he has chosen Funke Akindele.

The source added, “He never consulted with the state executives of the party or any of the party leaders before choosing Funke Akindele. He only called the chairman of the Lagos PDP Elders Committee and former Minister of Cooperation and Integration in Africa, Dr Bim­bo Ogunkelu, to come to his house that he wants to inform him of his choice of running mate.

“I learnt he also called Capt. Tunji Shelle, a former state chairman of the party to come to his house but he (Shelle) de­clined.

“It was when Ogunkelu went to his house that he (Jan­dor) announced that he has picked Funke Akindele as his running mate.

“You joined a party in Janu­ary 2022 and you are behaving as if you know more than those you met on the ground. Little won­der he was having issues with the party leaders in his former party. We are trying to make things work but the truth is that all is not well at all and I don’t blame Wike.”