The Deputy Speaker of the Ondo State House Assembly, Dare Eniola, has dissociated himself from the state Deputy-Governor's decision to dumpt the PDP for the APC saying he is surprised at Olanusi's action.

Olanusi and Eniola are both from the Akoko South-West Local Government Area and had hitherto been strong political allies.

Eniola, in a statement in Akure on Thursday, asserted his continued membership of the PDP in spite of Olanusi's defection.‎
He said, "I want to use this opportunity to dissociate myself from the actions of the deputy governor, Alhaji Olanusi, who dumped the PDP for APC.
"All the honourable members of the Ondo State House of Assembly are still full-fledged members of the PDP to which I belong."

He also said the PDP would sweep the polls on Saturday despite the defection of the deputy governor, calling on all supporters of the party to remain steadfast.

The traditional ruler of Supare Akoko, hometown of Olanusi, Oba Adejoro Adedeji, also on Thursday described the deputy governor's defection as "a rude shock and embarrassment to the Supare community."

The monarch said this in a chat with journalists in Akure.

Adedeji, who noted that the defection was of no effect, said the decision of the deputy governor was unilateral as he never informed any member of the community before he defected.
"Olanusi is on his own," he said.

Also on Thursday, the PDP in Ondo State said Olanusi was never a member of the party going by the last re-registration exercise conducted in the party.
A statement by the party's Publicity Director, Ayo Fadaka, stated that the deputy governor was not registered both in his ward and local government by the party.
The Ondo PDP spokesman said, "It is however pertinent for us to underscore the fact that Alhaji Olanusi is not a member of the PDP in Ondo State as he was not re-registered in his ward and local government by the party.
"While admitting that he attended two party functions recently, he was a passive observer at such functions and his attendance does not in any manner confer membership on him.
"By his latest political gymnastic, it is obvious that he had been a clandestine member of the APC and a mole in the government of Governor Olusegun Mimiko and has just received the order to declare openly for them."
He noted that Olanusi's action was intended to serve as a response to the declaration of Ikuru in Rivers, adding that "both are however not in the same cadre, while Ikuru possess the power and influence to inflict devastating damages on APC in Rivers State, same cannot be said of Ali Olanusi of Ondo State."

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