I remain pdp candidate for Kogi West -Adeyemi As ACN, CPC others strategise

DESPITEthe ruling of theFederal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, which nullified the primary that produced Senator Smart Adeyemi as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Kogi West senatorial district, the chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character andInter-governmental Affairs has said he remains the candidate of the party for the election on Saturday.Justice Iyang Ekwo had ruled on Monday that the primary that produced Senator Adeyemi did not conform with 2010 Electoral Act and the PDP constitution and subsequently ordered for a fresh primary before Saturday.Adeyemi, who is seeking for a second term at the Senate, said the judgment was a distraction, adding that it would not stop him from contesting the election on Saturday.He called on all his supporters to ignore the rumours that the court had disqualified him, adding that he was ready for a fresh primary.He said out of the three contestants who contested againstmein January, one of them, Chief Joseph Faniyi, had defected to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and is the candidate for Kogi West senatorial district for Saturday election, while Tunde Olusunle and Abdulganiyu Salaudeen have indicated their withdrawal from the race through writing.According to him, my name was legally submitted and accepted by the Independent National electoralCommission (INEC)as the candidate for the senatorial election.Meanwhile, opposition parties are already cashing in on the judgment to unseat the PDP in the district.Adeyemis rival during the primary, Chief Faniyi, had sued the PDP, INEC and Adeyemi over the manner the primary was conducted, which edged him out, before he defected to the CPC.Investigation by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that other parties fielding candidates for the seat, including the CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were making last minute plans ahead of Saturday election, to ensure that they unseat the PDP.Already, the battle line had been drawn between Adeyemi and Faniyi, but information gathered indicated that the ACN, together with its candidate, Adewale Abel,had embarked on door-to-door campaign to win the election.It was also gathered that politicians in the senatorial district were making moves to ensure a credible candidate was voted in on Saturday.
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