Agbaje Goes Solo, Shuns Party Bigwigs in Campaign
There are indications that the cracks in the leadership of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic may have informed the decision of its governorship candidate, Mr Jimi Agbaje, to operate without the support of the party’s bigwigs in the state.
PUNCH reported that Agbaje had assembled his campaign team without any input from the party’s leadership including a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George.
It was further learnt that as a result of the development, George and some PDP big shots in the state were not involved in the ongoing campaign of the Lagos PDP governorship candidate.
A source within the party, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the development was the outcome of a deep-seated disagreement between Agbaje and George, which began in 2015.
The source said, “After ex-President Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential election, the presidency started relating directly with Jimi Agbaje, who was the PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State. This was at the expense of other elders.
“The situation further worsened when Agbaje lost the election. Some elders of the party were angry that he called Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to congratulate him when the result had not been officially announced.
“It was Bode George that brought Agbaje to the party. But under the PDP structure, if the party is not in power in the state, the governorship candidate becomes the leader of the party. But this did not go down well with some elders of the party in Lagos who felt he (Agbaje) was a new entrant.
“Another factor that further divided the party was the period the PDP had its national chairmanship tussle, which created two factions, one led by Ahmed Markafi and the other by Ali Modu Sheriff. Bode George was with Markafi, while Agbaje was with a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Mrs Aduke Maina, who was with Sheriff.”
PUNCH reported that Agbaje had assembled his campaign team without any input from the party’s leadership including a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George.
It was further learnt that as a result of the development, George and some PDP big shots in the state were not involved in the ongoing campaign of the Lagos PDP governorship candidate.
A source within the party, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the development was the outcome of a deep-seated disagreement between Agbaje and George, which began in 2015.
The source said, “After ex-President Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential election, the presidency started relating directly with Jimi Agbaje, who was the PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State. This was at the expense of other elders.
“The situation further worsened when Agbaje lost the election. Some elders of the party were angry that he called Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to congratulate him when the result had not been officially announced.
“It was Bode George that brought Agbaje to the party. But under the PDP structure, if the party is not in power in the state, the governorship candidate becomes the leader of the party. But this did not go down well with some elders of the party in Lagos who felt he (Agbaje) was a new entrant.
“Another factor that further divided the party was the period the PDP had its national chairmanship tussle, which created two factions, one led by Ahmed Markafi and the other by Ali Modu Sheriff. Bode George was with Markafi, while Agbaje was with a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Mrs Aduke Maina, who was with Sheriff.”
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