The Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has expressed optimism of winning the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti with its candidate, Oluyinka Akerele.
The National Chairman of the DPP, Garshon Benson, in an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Abuja described Akerele as a grassroots politician.
He said that the party had replaced Joseph Oladejo, whose name was initially submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with that of Akerele.
“Akerele is a strong grassroots politician that is well known in Ekiti State.
“He has also done a lot of politics in Lagos. He is the candidate to beat in the Ekiti State governorship election.
“He is more popular today than any other candidate contesting the Ekiti governorship election because of his antecedents. Akerele is not just a new comer; he has a lot of supporters across both the formal and informal sectors.
“Just few days ago, he was endorsed by the tailors and some groups with over 30,000 members as their candidate. With what is on the ground, I believe we are going to win Ekiti,’’ Benson said.
Akerele was one of the aspirants that participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in Ekiti State which produced former Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi, as winner.
He later defected to the DPP where he would contest as the party’s flag bearer in the governorship election.
