A former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, has announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party.
He announced his resignation from the party after a meeting with loyalists and supporters at his campaign office in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.
Adeyeye said his major preoccupation was to scuttle the succession plan of Governor Ayodele Fayose.
He said he had rejected the offer of nominating a deputy governor and the senatorial seat for Ekiti South dangled at him by party leaders.
According to him, the issue at hand is more of a journey to rescue Ekiti than a personal ambition.
Adeyeye’s outburst followed his defeat in the PDP governorship primary held on Tuesday in Ado Ekiti, which was won by Fayose’s deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.
Olusola, an indigene of Ikere Ekiti in the south senatorial district of the state, was the preferred candidate of the governor. He polled 1,191 votes to defeat the former minister in the keenly contested primary.
Adeyeye, who is also a former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee, scored 770 votes while seven votes were voided.
He vowed never to work with Fayose or Olusola for the PDP’s victory in the July 14 governorship election.
He said, “Every Ekiti man will join hands to chase him (Fayose) away. I can never cooperate with him on any issue.”
Asked why he decided to dump the party, having declared that the primary was free, fair and credible, Adeyeye said he had reservations about the way some of his observations were treated by the election committee headed by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.
“That I accepted the results of the primary doesn’t mean I will work with the person chosen. They are two different matters. For the results, I have reasons to be aggrieved,” he said.
Adeyeye lamented that he did not have free access to delegates during campaigning because people were afraid of losing their positions.
According to him, organising the primary in a confined environment gagged the delegates from voting freely.
He said delegates were also coerced to wear uniforms to bear allegiance.
But reacting, Fayose said Adeyeye’s exit from PDP would not make a difference.
“We appreciate him for the time he has spent and for participating in the primary. The PDP has demonstrated to the whole world that we can level the playing field.
“We have given a level playing field for everybody and to every election, there will be losers and winners.
“I called him yesterday (Wednesday) and he was raining curses on me and he was boasting that he would fight me with everything he has. I am Peter the rock, nobody can fight me.
“I have given everybody a level playing field, which actually no sitting governor will do. Having done the best in this circumstance, I leave everything to God. But I want to assure you that his departure will make no difference.
“To our teeming party members, I advise that this party has lost elections two times before. One to ex-governor (Niyi) Adebayo and another when (Dr. Kayode) Fayemi became governor. The party is more important, we should stay together to win the election.”
But debunking the allegation that he cursed the governor, Adeyeye said he only told Fayose not to call him again.
“With all the things he did after the primary, he started calling people and threatening them for supporting me.
“We have finished the primary and you are the one threatening people. What follow-up?
“I cannot be part of the continuity of oppression, slavery and poverty. There is no need for him to continue calling me. I only said, please don’t call me again. Don’t ever call me again, I didn’t curse him.”
Adeyeye said he had received offers from five political parties, promising to declare his next political party within the next 48 hours after meeting with his inner circle.
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