The Moshood Salvador-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has announced an alliance with the Labour Party (LP) for the July 22 council polls.
Salvador, who belongs to the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP, made the announcement at a news conference in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said that the alliance was a temporary arrangement, and that all PDP candidates for the polls would contest on the LP platform.
Salvador said that the decision was borne of out the inability of his faction and the Segun Adewale-led faction of the PDP to reach a consensus for the polls.
He said that the alliance became necessary as his faction, which he claimed represented over 90 per cent of the PDP in the state, was denied participation in the polls, following the recognition of the Adewale-led faction by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Salvador said that the alliance did not mean that his faction had left the PDP.
According to him, the arrangement would be temporary.
“What we are announcing today is alliance with Labour Party to enable our candidates participate in the elections.
“Political alliance is an agreement for co-operation between political parties on common agenda, often for the purpose of contesting elections.
“This alliance does not mean we are leaving the party. We are PDP anytime.
“We only have a pre-election alliance. This is not the first time we are having such in the country’s political history,’’ he said.
Salvador appealed to PDP lovers and sympathisers in the state to vote for PDP-LP alliance through LP.
“Again, it is alliance. We have not defected to another party; we have not declared for another party and we have not dumped the PDP,” he said.
He said that the alliance had made the Labour Party platform to have 342 councillorship candidates and 52 chairmanship candidates for the polls.
Salvador directed all candidates under the arrangement to start pasting their posters and educate the electorate on the alliance and how they could vote.
He directed all the faction’s PDP executives in council areas to work closely with candidates of the LP for success at the polls.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP in Lagos State is factionalised along Makarfi/Ali-Modu Sheriff national PDP leadership tussle.
The Appeal Court ruled that Sheriff is the PDP party’s National Chairman.
Markarfi’s appeal against the judgment is pending at the Supreme Court.
LASIEC recognised only the Adewale faction of the Lagos State PDP for the council polls based on the Appeal Court judgment.
Reacting to the alliance, Adewale, who belongs to the Sheriff-led faction, described the step as unfortunate and uncalled for.
He told NAN on telephone that the decision of Salvador to take PDP members to LP, after aspirants obtained nomination forms on the platform of PDP, was an anti-party activity.
Adewale claimed that his faction made efforts to accommodate the other faction but Salvador frustrated the moves.
The factional chairman urged Salvador to return to the legally recognised authorities, the money his faction realised from sale of nomination forms to aspirants on the platform of PDP.
He said that he would set up a disciplinary committee to probe the alliance and mete out sanctions to anybody found culpable.
“How can you buy nomination forms on the platform of PDP and defect to Labour Party for the elections. It is a clear illegal act.
“We cannot fold our hands and watch this illegality unchallenged. Any member that is found culpable by this committee will be dealt with in accordance with the party’s constitution,” he told NAN.
Adewale urged PDP members to embark on massive membership drive for success at the polls.
NAN reports that LASIEC has fixed July 22 for the council polls, and July 29 for run-off.
