Diran Odeyemi, a former National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has vowed to initiate a recall process against Wole Oke, the House of Representative member representing Ijesa North (Obokun/Oriade) Federal Constituency who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Oke, who is a fifth term federal lawmaker, announced his resignation from the PDP in a letter dated April 16, 2025 and addressed to his PDP Ward 7 Chairman in Obokun local government area, marking the end of his long association with the party.
Appearing on radio current affairs programme on Rave FM, Osogbo, Oke had stated that the PDP lacked the political strength to win future elections in his constituency.
He criticised the capacity of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s appointees from the area, claiming they were politically and financially weak.
Reacting to Oke’a comments, Odeyemi in a statement challenged Wole Oke to resign and contest a fresh election under his new party.
“We thank him. But on behalf of the PDP leaders of thought, I want to challenge him to resign his current mandate, which ends in 2027.
“He should ask INEC to conduct fresh elections in our federal constituency and test his popularity under another political platform,” he said.
Odeyemi warned that if Oke failed to resign and re-contest, the constituents would begin a formal recall process.
Odeyemi dismissed the significance of Oke’s departure, stating that the PDP had not lost a valuable asset in the constituency.
“The coming months will reveal his true worth to his new friends. Voters are prepared to take action. Rather, we gain more by offloading political liability dragging us back,” he added.
He accused Oke of undermining the party from within, adding that he had been secretly supporting the APC by revealing the PDP’s internal strategies to opposition figures.
Odeyemi also affirmed the PDP’s resolve to support Governor Adeleke’s reelection campaign in 2026.
