Two Lagos State Governorship candidates for the 2023 guber polls of African Peoples Party, APP, Mrs. Abiola Adeyemi, and Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, Adekunle Adenipebi, have debunked claims that they stepped down from the race in support of the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Dr. Olajide Adediran, popularly, called Jandor.
This came contrary to an earlier claim by PDP guber candidate at a recent media briefing in his campaign office, Liberty Place, Adeniyi Jones Street, Ikeja, Lagos, which had 30 other political parties, under the aegis of Conference of Registered and Deregistered Political Parties, CPP, a co-political group that spread across the state with structures in 20 Local Government and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, that they have stepped down from the forthcoming 2023 guber election in the state.
The leader of CPP, Dr. Akin Badmus, while announcing the formal collapsing of their structures to Lagos4Lagos movement and PDP at the briefing, said that the move became necessary to rescue Lagos and residents from the shackles and strong hold of godfather and bad governance for decades.
Badmus, said, the group has a strong membership presence across the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs of state, which would be mobilized for PDP.
According to him, “So, the entire 30 political parties comprising of both registered and de-registered as well as governorship candidates of Zenith Labour and AAP have decided to throw our weights behind Jandor and as such directed all our followers to begin massive campaign for the PDP in Lagos state.”
Debunking the claim by Badmus and PDP, the duo, Adenipebi and Adeyemi, at a media briefing on Wednesday, at Ikeja, condemned the act, describing it as “a lie and fraud.”
According to Adenipebi, “I am still in the race for the Lagos state 2023 governorship election, I am not on any ground stepping down for the PDP governorship candidate in Lagos state due to the fact that we have not reached any agreement up till this moment, based on this reason my name and that of my party (ZLP) should not be in the press conference addressed by Jandor, I am still active in the race to Alausa come 2023, I only met Jandor for just five minutes never had any parley or agreement to step down. It is a lie and a cheap fraud.”
