jegede
Eyitayo Jegede

In light of the Court of Appeal’s decision to strike out business mogul, Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, the Independent National Electoral Commission has named Eyitayo Jegede as the gubernatorial nominee for the PDP in the forthcoming Ondo State elections.

The commission has fully expressed how it arrived at its decision to switch the name of who carries the PDP ticket. It said in a statement that it simply complied with the verdict from the Appeal Court. The statement read:

“In compliance with the judgment delivered today Wednesday, 23rd November 2016 by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) hereby  declares that Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) is now the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Ondo State Governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 26th November 2016.

“It will be recalled that in compliance with the Order given by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division on Friday 14th October 2016 (re-affirmed on 27th October 2016), the Commission recognized Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate for the Governorship election. However, with today’s judgment by the Court of Appeal, the Commission hereby recognizes Mr. Jegede as the candidate of the PDP for the said election.

“The Commission wishes to appeal to the good people of Ondo State to come out and exercise their franchise on the election day in a peaceful manner. All the political parties and their candidates participating in the election are also enjoined to play by the rules and cooperate with the Commission to ensure the smooth conduct of the election.”

Loyalists of the newly pronounced PDP candidate have been seen parading the streets of Ondo state in crowds, chanting and singing. Some supporters of Jegede even went to the state’s INEC office with his campaign posters and banners to express their joy.

Meanwhile, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, has called on INEC to shift the date of the election as the remaining two days were not enough for Jegede to prepare the names of his agents in polling units across the state.