Governor Ayodele Fayose has said that the PDP chose relatively young persons for the ticket because of the party’s belief in the country’s youth population and thus urged them not to let down their own.
He said this in defence of the choice of 39-year-old Kazeem Ogunsakin, 39, as the deputy governorship candidate of the party at Ikole-Ekiti during the flag off of the governorship election campaign by the party.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, quoted the governor as saying that PDP’s trust in the youth could be seen in the choice of the governorship candidate, Prof Kolapo Eleka, who is only 49. “We are not like those who don’t see anything good in our youths.
We have implicit confidence in them and their ability to deliver when necessary. We have chosen a youthful team that has been proven. Ogunsakin is a former local government chairman and currently the Special Adviser on Due Process.
Eleka has served as deputy governor for close to four years and has proven to be a good and competent person,” he said. “I implore the people of Ikole local government to vote for our party.
In 2014, your vote was the third largest after Ado and Ikere, and I want you to come first this time around. I am also pleased with the performance of your people in government. Everybody should go and get their permanent voter’s cards,” he added.
After presenting Eleka and Ogunsakin to the crowd, Fayose also welcomed over 100 persons who defected from the APC to the PDP. The leader of the defectors, Mr. Bayo Ayeni, recalled that Fayose appointed him into the State Universal Basic Education Board in 2004.
He said he and his supporters were ready to follow Fayose and work tirelessly for the success of the PDP in the coming election. In his welcome address, the Chairman of the PDP in Ikole LGA, Alhaji Azeez Yusuff, said the evil machination of the APC would not materialise.