Rotimi Ojomoyela – Ado-Ekiti

A former Governor of Ekiti State, Engr. Segun Oni, said on Monday he has decided to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following requests by his people who had demanded that he should dump the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The ex-governor said his decision to dump the APC was due to shabby treatment meted to him and his supporters.

Oni said he had started the process of engaging the former governor Ayo Fayose, Senator Biodun Olujimi and other critical stakeholders in the Ekiti State chapter of the PDP about his resolve to return to the party.

The defection of the former APC Deputy National Chairman filtered into town on Sunday and by the evening of the same day, social media was already awash with the report.

Oni defected to the APC in 2014 and was immediately made the Deputy National Chairman of the party.

Speaking with journalists via telephone conversation in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, Oni expressed displeasure at how his supporters were being ostracized from all engagements in APC, including appointments and privilege to contest elections.

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He said: “You all knew the kind of treatment I have been getting. As we speak, none of my supporters was being allowed to get an appointment or contest elections in APC.

“If the APC gives me the whole world, I won’t be happy seeing an integral part of my political life, I mean my supporters being treated badly.

“At a particular time, I was suspended in my ward at Ifaki Ekiti and nothing was said about it. I am the Asiwaju of this town, if someone could have the effrontery to do that to me here, you could see it had sent a signal that there was a problem.

“It is not about Segun Oni, my people and supporters are the main issues.”

However, the ex-governor didn’t give the actual time he would formally join the PDP.

“We have taken a decision and we are in the process of joining the PDP. We are going to set up an implementation committee to work on our programme of action. Our joining PDP is not something that won’t take three months.

“I am not that kind of a politician that will rush at things, we can’t just go back that way. There must be proper planning. We are carrying out the local government by local government counting of those that will follow us.

“Those who took the action were my supporters across all the local governments and 177 wards, who felt bad about the whole scenario in APC.

“But the major thing is that we are moving. We have taken a decision to go back and on that we are working on.”

Vanguard