The Chairman of the Labour Party in Osun State, Mr. Tunde Olatunji, has said members of the party in the state will not defect with the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Olatunji said this in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday.
He said members of the LP in Osun would not join the PDP because the governor was not the reason they joined the party.
He said, “We are not joining the PDP. No way! We came to the LP on our own. We didn’t join the LP because of Mimiko. We came to join the party and not to join Mimiko.
“His exit from the party does not mean everybody will follow him to his new party. We have nothing to do with the PDP or the APC. We remain in the LP. And nothing is shaking us.”
Although the governorship candidate of the LP in Osun State, Mr. Fatai Akinabde, could not be reached for comments, he had earlier stated in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH that Mimiko’s exit from the LP would not be the end of the party.
Akinbade had said Mimiko did not offer him any financial support during the August 9 governorship election in the state, which was won by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
He said parties were different from individuals, adding that the LP would continue to exist even if Mimiko left the party.
He said, “The Labour Party has been existing before Mimiko joined it and I believe the party will continue to exist if he leaves. His exit does not mean the end of the LP.
“Some of us here will not leave the party if Mimiko defects, and I know the same is true for so many others in other states.”