Former Sen. Iyabo Obasanjo pledged loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday and vowed to work with party leaders to win upcoming elections after defecting from the All Progressives Congress.
The event held at the PDP secretariat,Nnpc , witnessed massive turn out members of the party and new members who defected to PDP alongside Sen. Iyabo Obasanjo.
Obasanjo, who recently sought the APC governorship ticket for the 2027 election, said she was dissatisfied with the process that produced Sen. Olamilekan Adeola as the party’s consensus candidate. She alleged that she and other aspirants were sidelined.
She said her decision to leave the APC was not based on personal ambition but on a lack of fairness and inclusion within the party.
Obasanjo said she agreed to abide by any consensus arrangement if it followed the party constitution and included all aspirants.
“When I returned to active politics, I chose to join the APC because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu treated me with great respect and dignity,” she said. “He regarded me like his own daughter, gave me my rightful place and accorded me the recognition I deserved. It was never about money; it was about respect.”
She said prestige and honor are valued more than money in Yorubaland and that recognition earns loyalty in return.
Obasanjo said her return to politics came at the urging of constituents who said Ogun State had changed and asked her to contribute again to its development. She said their support was based on her record as a senator and as a commissioner in Ogun State.
She said she and other aspirants toured Ogun West and Ogun East and were preparing to visit Ogun Central before party leaders called a meeting.
According to the APC Constitution, she said, all aspirants must consult before a consensus candidate is announced. But she said a candidate had already been named when they arrived at the meeting.
“We were informed that two aspirants from Ogun West had been persuaded to step down in support of the consensus candidate. At that point, I realized that something was wrong,” Obasanjo said.
She argued the process could not be called a genuine consensus because aspirants from Ogun Central and Ogun East were excluded.
Obasanjo declared her intention to run for the Ogun Central Senate seat on the PDP platform. She said she and the party’s governorship candidate, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, are true indigenes of Ogun State, while the APC has fielded a Lagos indigene.
“Both Hon. Ladi Adebutu and I come from respected families with a long history of service to the people,” she said. “Our fathers dedicated their lives to empowering others, creating opportunities and supporting countless individuals across Ogun State.”
Adebutu called Obasanjo’s defection a major boost for the PDP and expressed confidence the party would win the next governorship election. He said his administration would correct what he called shortcomings of the current APC government and restore good governance. He also pledged full autonomy for local governments, saying grassroots development is critical to the state’s progress.
Ogun PDP Chairman Abayomi Tella presented Obasanjo with the party membership card and insignia, marking her formal admission to the PDP.
0 Comments