The Lead Visioner, Lagos4Lagos Movement, Dr Olajide Adediran (Jandor) on Wednesday clinched the PDP ticket for the 2023 governorship election in Lagos State setting the stage for a tough battle for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the main election.
Declaring the result in Ikeja, the Chairman of the Lagos PDP Electoral Committee/Returning Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, said that Adediran scored 679 votes to defeat his contender, Mr David Vaughan who polled 20 votes.
Ogidi, who noted that there were 775 ad hoc delegates for the primaries, said that 709 were accredited for the election.
According to him, 10 votes were voided in the election.
Ogidi said: “The total number of accredited voters is 709, and Olajide Adediran got 679 votes, DAKOVA (David Kolawole Vaughan had 20 and we had 10 voided votes.
“Having satisfied all the requirements in our guidelines, I want to announce Dr Olajide Adediran as our candidate after scoring the highest votes of 679. He is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Meanwhile, Ogidi, before announcing the result, said that delegates from Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government failed to see reasons with the committee over alleged discrepancies on delegate list.
He, however, commended the aspirants and delegates for their peaceful conduct and sportsmanship throughout the process.
“I want to thank all of you for your patience and I want to congratulate the two contestants for your spirit of sportsmanship, especially DAKOVA. He is a true sportsman,” Ogidi said.
In his victory speech, Adediran, who acknowledged the aspirants that stepped down for him and his contender, said he was ready to face the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He pledged to sit with all aspirants and leaders of the party to tap from their wealth of knowledge and experience in a bid to win Lagos state for PDP.
Adediran, who applauded all the delegates for their trust in giving him the party’s ticket, promised to bring governance to the grassroots.
Also, Vaughan, who accepted defeat, said he vied for the ticket with a well mapped out strategy to transform Lagos state.
He promised to support and back Adediran”s ambition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that four contestants including Otunba Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, Mr Adedeji Doherty, Mr Ade Dosunmu and Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour stepped down from the race.
GWGNG reports that the development sets a tough election battle for the APC as Jandor the PDP ticket bearer was a strong associate of former Governor Babatunde Fashola. He is believed to have extensive contacts within the APC, a party he belonged to until last year.
