Kwara PDP Governorship Candidate Ditches Saraki's Camp

The Peoples Democratic Party's governorship candidate in Kwara State, Hassan Oladimeji, has announced his departure from the faction of the party led by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki. This move comes after Oladimeji was suspended by the Magaji Ngeri Ward leadership of the PDP, a decision he described as baseless. The suspension was allegedly due to his involvement in anti-party activities and gross misconduct. However, Oladimeji maintained that he had already parted ways with the Saraki-led faction and was now a member of the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee of the PDP. He argued that the ward leadership lacked the authority to discipline him since he no longer belonged to their faction. Oladimeji stated, 'If I don't belong to you, who are you suspending? So, the suspension is baseless, meaningless because you can't suspend someone who isn't a part of you.' He also emphasized that his position within the Turaki-led interim National Working Committee made him an active member of the faction's national structure. The PDP in Kwara State has been embroiled in a deepening crisis, with two rival governorship candidates and competing party structures. Oladimeji had contested the party's governorship ticket but lost the nomination to Engr. Bolakale Kawu. While the Saraki-aligned faction recognizes Kawu as its candidate, the Turaki-led camp has declared Oladimeji as its governorship flagbearer. Oladimeji acknowledged Saraki's influence on his political career but stressed that their paths had now diverged. 'Yes, Bukola Saraki has been my leader for 25 years. I've worked with him for that long. But for now, I am not working for him,' he declared. The development is the latest chapter in the crisis within the PDP, which has fractured into rival national factions led by Dr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki and Abdulrahman Mohammed, with both groups claiming legitimacy and operating parallel structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.