• Denies collapsing structure for Gov Aiyedatiwa
• Disowns suspended member, Agboola

The Ondo State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has described as a blatant falsehood reports about its governorship candidate for the November 2024 election, Bamidele Akingboye, collapsing his structure to support Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

A statement issued in Akure and signed by State Secretary, Hon Jimmy Akinyan, disowned one Tope Ajulo as an imposter who is not the Party’s State Chairman as claimed.

The statement said Ajulo was the State Youth Leader, who was suspended from the party in early March 2024 for alleged gross misconduct, malfeasance and impersonation.

According to the statement; ”Governor Aiyedatiwa knows that the so-called Governorship Candidate, Dr or Mr. Shola Agboola had been suspended from SDP since January 2020, and Mrs Olusanya Boyede was part of the Ondo State SDP Executive which was dissolved on 22 March 2024.

“Contrary to the claims reported, and known by both the incumbent Governor Aiyedatiwa and the Deputy Governor Adelami, who came to represent him on the scam Ladden charade-for-money occasion, SDP and its full structures and members are waxing strong for Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, the SDP Governorship Candidate, who will unseat Mr Aiyedatiwa at the election in November 2024.

”It is also incorrect that ‘the leaders of the party in Abuja are fond of using the party to negotiate at every election season’, as reported by Mr Tope Ajulo in the phoney report.

”It may suffice to remind us about the past governorship elections in Ondo State. In 2012, SDP was in existence as SDMP which did not contest at all. In 2016, SDP fielded Dr Olu Agunloye as its Governorship Candidate and the National Working Committee led by Chief Olu Falae came from Abuja to flag off his campaigns in Akure.

“The Abuja leaders did not negotiate with any party or candidate. SDP went through all the stages of the election.

“In 2016, Mr Oyeleye Fasua emerged as the Governorship Candidate, and before the National leaders could give him the flag of the party, he defected to APC and was instantly expelled from the Party by the National Working Committee.

”In 2024, Otunba Bamidele Akingboye emerged as the SDP candidate. Neither the NWC in Abuja nor the Governorship Candidate is negotiating or ready to negotiate with another candidate because Akingboye is set to win the election and become the next Governor of Ondo State.

“This political scam of charade-for-money wherein disgruntled and/or dismissed members claim control of a group or a part of a party or its structure in exchange for money or bags of rice or vests and caps is a rampant and recurring method of extorting money from gullible political candidates.”

Expressing pity for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the statement further said; ”Unfortunately, we had wrongly imagined that Governor Aiyedatiwa and his Deputy would have understood those money-sucking gimmicks by now and not fall victim to the scam.”