Jandor architect of his own downfall, ignored Party, picked Comedian as running mate

Jandor architect of his own downfall, ignored Party, picked Comedian as running mate

Adetokunbo Pearse, a prominent figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has claimed that Abdulazeez Adediran, the party’s former governorship candidate in Lagos, was the main reason for his defeat in the 2023 elections.

Pearse made the accusation during a Friday interview on News Central, where he discussed the internal dynamics of the party’s campaign.

Pearse argued that Adediran, widely known as Jandor, made crucial mistakes in his bid for the Lagos governorship, most notably by choosing a comic actress, Funke Akindele, as his running mate. Pearse stated that this decision came after Jandor rejected advice from key party leaders.

The former governorship candidate resigned from the PDP on Monday, citing issues of indiscipline and anti-party activities among members as his reasons for stepping down.

Adediran also alleged that the party sabotaged his chances in the state’s gubernatorial race by announcing an alliance with another party just days before the election.

In the 2023 elections, Adediran finished third with 62,449 votes, far behind the winner, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who received 762,134 votes. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP) came second with 312,329 votes.

During the interview, Pearse went on to accuse Adediran of sidelining Lagos PDP leaders after securing the party’s governorship ticket.

He claimed that Adediran’s victory in the “fabricated” PDP primary was orchestrated with the help of his Lagos4Lagos political group, which allegedly provided the delegates.

While Adediran was initially welcomed by Lagos PDP leaders due to his backing from influential figures like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Pearse suggested that his relationship with party leadership soured after the primary.

According to Pearse, Bode George, a senior PDP member, had advised Adediran to allow the party’s leadership to select his running mate. However, Pearse claimed that Jandor rejected this advice, choosing to isolate the party’s key figures from his campaign.

Pearse’s comments provide a detailed critique of the internal struggles within the PDP during the 2023 elections and shed light on the fractured dynamics that may have contributed to the party’s disappointing performance in Lagos.

“He did not win the primary election in the legal way. It was all a sham from the beginning. He came into the party, and six months later, he got the ticket,” Pearse said.

“Unfortunately, national leaders (of PDP) bought his lies.

“When he (Bode George) endorsed Jandor, he said, ‘now you are going to be our candidate; as we organise this primary, you consider Rhodes-Vivour as your deputy.’ Jandor accepted.

“It was on that basis that Bode George said, ‘let’s go; we will support you’.

“After he won the party primary, the party leaders approached him, particularly Bode George, and said, ‘let’s give you a deputy to balance the ticket if you don’t want Rhodes-Vivour’.

“He said no; he is going to choose his deputy. He did not even give them a chance to choose anybody.

“Jandor went and brought this comic actress and said she has thousands of followers on Facebook. That was the end of Jandor.

“When he is talking of betrayal from leaders, he caused it all. It is his fault.”