The protest against the removal of Eyitayo Jegede as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State continued on Saturday in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Residents of the state had on Friday took to the streets of major towns such as Akure, Owo, Ondo, Ikare, Isua and Ilaje areas of the state to protest the removal of Jegede's name on the list of approved candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
On Saturday, the protesters, who were led by a factional chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Clement Faboyede, insisted that Jimoh Ibrahim would never be the candidate of the party for the November 26 governorship election.
The protest affected commercial activities as markets and shops in the state capital were shut while the bonfire on the road affected vehicular movement.
Some of the PDP leaders, who participated in the protest, included a former Nigerian Ambassador to Greece, Prof. Olu Agbi; a former deputy governor of the state, Chief Omolafe Oluwateru, as well as past and present state executive members of the party.
The PDP supporters carried placards with inscriptions which read 'Return Jegede to us,' 'Buhari should not interfere in Ondo politics,' 'Remember 1983,' 'No Jegede no vote,' 'The people's choice is Jegede,' among others.
Faboyede, who led the protesters to the palace of Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, appealed to the traditional ruler to intervene in the matter.
He urged the monarch to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC not to disrupt peace in the state.
Faboyede said, "The APC is using Jimoh Ibrahim against us. Ibrahim is a member of the Accord Party; he is not our member. No court can impose any candidate on any political party."
While appealing to the protesters to avoid a breakdown of law and order, Oba Aladetoyinbo said the state should not be allowed to experience what happened in 1983 where many lives were lost as a result of political violence.
He appealed to President Buhari to intervene in the Ondo PDP crisis and enjoined INEC not to be partisan.
"The judiciary should make sure that all parties get justice because we don't want any injustice in Ondo State," the monarch said.
Earlier, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Mrs. Jumoke Akindele, who spoke with journalists on behalf of the PDP members in the assembly, also insisted that Jegede remained the candidate of the PDP.
