By Rotimi Ojomoyela

Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State, yesterday described the withdrawal of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Assembly candidate, Mr Sunday Omosilade, from the March 9 state Assembly election, as an indication that PDP was a dying party.

PDP and its colour flags

Omosilade, PDP candidate from Governor Ayodele Fayose’s Afaoward in Irepodun/Ifelodun constituency II, had on Friday, written a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission to intimate it of its intention to withdraw from the race.

Omosilade, in his letter dated March 1 and addressed to INEC chairman,   Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had posited that he took the painful decision having lost confidence in the electoral process going by alleged rigging of the presidential and National assembly elections.

Addressing party members during a rally for the APC assembly candidate in the constituency, Mr Akeem Jamiu at Iropora, Esure and Eyio towns on Sunday, the party’ s Secretary in the local government, Hon Vincent Bewaji, said the withdrawal was allegedly   plotted to prevent Fayose from being disgraced in the election.

The party also pleaded with party members   to begin aggressive voter education across the 26 state constituencies in the state to reduce number of void votes   in the coming election.

Bewaji said the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly polls dazzled the opposition and taught the PDP leaders a strong warning that they stand no chance of winning the poll.

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“They knew they can’t win any election in Ekiti and particularly in this constituency and they decided to save their faces from ignominy. In the presidential and national assembly elections, we won all the towns in this constituency. Former governor Fayose only won in his ward out of 11 wards in this council. So they knew what they were doing by withdrawing from the race”, he said.

The candidate, Mr. Akeem Jamiu, said the withdrawal won’t deter him from campaigning hard across the zone to be able to win.

“Whether he withdrew or not, I will continue with my last lap of the campaign and that is what I am doing now. I will campaign as if nobody had withdrawn from the race. I will continue to engage my people as if I still have a strong opponent, because it is on this premise that my people can understand my mission and vision for them”, he stated.

Jamiu, former Senior Special Assistant on Research and Documentation to Governor Kayode Fayemi exuded confidence that he would win