The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has elected Babatunde Emmanuel Faro as the consensus candidate for the Akure North/South federal constituency area of the state.
Also, the opposition political party elected Messrs Kehinde Patrick Olorunyemi and Oluwaseyi Sunday Adekanmbi as consensus candidates for the two Akure South constituencies.
The Chairman of the PDP in Akure South told party members to work towards ensuring victory for the candidates in the 2027 elections, irrespective of the factionalisation rocking the national body of the party.
Faro was adopted as the consensus candidate for the Akure South/North Federal Constituency following the report of a 10-member consensus screening committee constituted by the party leadership.
The committee, inaugurated in line with Section 29 of the Electoral Act 2026 and Article 50 (3) of the PDP Constitution 2017 (as amended), held its screening exercise in Akure North local government area of the state.
The committee was tasked with nominating a single candidate to represent the party, with equal representation drawn from Akure North and Akure South Local Government Areas.
According to the report submitted to the State Chairman of the party, the committee was mandated to screen all aspirants, facilitate consensus to avoid a rancorous primary election, ensure fairness and equity between both LGAs, and submit its recommendation before the deadline for nomination form submissions.
The committee comprised respected party leaders, including Hon. Olubi Isaac, Mr Oladimeji Busuyi, Hon. Gbolaro Obe, Hon. Amuja Olusanya, Hon. Aderuku Olusegun, and Hon. (Mrs.) Adebisi Funmilola, Hon. Alade Muller, Mr Ajayi Olorunlogbon, Mr Egunjobi Tayo, and Barr. Ademola Babalola, who was absent. Members included PDP chairmen from both Akure North and South LGAs, as well as party elders.
Out of three aspirants who initially indicated interest in the race, only two—Hon. Sunday Falae and Mr Babatunde Faro were screened, as Hon. (Mrs.) Kemisola Adesanya was absent during the exercise.
The screening process evaluated aspirants based on grassroots political structure, financial capacity to fund campaigns without over-reliance on the party, and overall acceptability among party elders. The committee ultimately adopted Faro from Akure South as the consensus candidate.
The decision was based on his political experience, having contested for the position three times with proven mobilisation strength, his high acceptability rating of 70 per cent in an elders’ perception survey, and his demonstrated party loyalty despite losing previous primaries twice.
The committee further resolved that Mr Faro be formally adopted as the PDP candidate, that all party members and structures should mobilise support for him, and that a reconciliation committee be established to address grievances from other aspirants.
In a duly signed report, the committee noted that the consensus approach significantly reduced internal friction and saved the party the cost of conducting a primary election.
The report concluded that the consensus arrangement would strengthen party unity and strategically position the PDP to reclaim the federal constituency seat from the APC in the 2027 general election.
Speaking after his emergence at the party secretariat in Akure, Faro described the exercise as a long and torturous journey. He promised to work hard to ensure that the party becomes victorious in the 2027 elections.
He said, “This is my turn. I have been aspiring, but I have not been able to emerge through the primary stage, so I’m excited today that they are taking me as a consensus candidate, but I am also mindful of the task ahead.
“The chance to put everybody together, fashion a clear, actionable strategy to win the election, and bring real representation to our people in Akure North and South.
“I am happy, and I thank God for this privilege, and I also thank every party member for this. We can win this election. The first thing is to look at the crisis, the national crisis, but at the local level, here we are all together.
“There is no factionalization, at least in my two local governments. We are going to use that collective spirit to see how we can now even reach out to some people who are not happy. We can’t say some people are not happy. We will try to embark on reconciliation and work within the ambit of the structure.
“We are very strategic. We will make sure that there is no faction. The PDP here is one. So we will take it up from there, and we will see what the future holds.”
Faro promised to leverage his contacts to bring development to the federal constituency if elected as the lawmaker for the people. He promised to bring empowerment to the people and ensure quality projects are brought to the people.
