Former governors Rashidi Ladoja and Gbenga Daniel of Oyo and Ogun States respectively as well as Mr. Jimi Agbaje have been knocked out of the national chairmanship race of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This is coming few weeks to the national convention of the party, billed to hold in Abuja.
Others are a former National Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo and Akin-Deko Akintayo from Ondo State.
Speaking on the pruning down of number of candidates who are vying for the position of the national chairman of the party from the region, the Board of Trustees of the PDP from the South-West region, in a document made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, recommended three aspirants from the region for the race.
It further promised that out of the three recommended aspirants, it was still working to get a consensus candidate among them before the December 9 national convention.
The party is expected to use the covention, which has been arranged to hold in Abuja, to elect its national officers.
A member of the BoT from the South-West, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, signed the document that reduced the number of the favoured aspirants.
In the document dated November 3, those favoured include a former sports minister and Special Duties Minister, as well as a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Special) , Prof. Taoheed Adedoja; a former Deputy Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George; and a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran.
Out of the three, both George and Adeniran are members of its BoT, which is regarded as the conscience of the party.
According to the document, the BoT South-West caucus said it picked George to represent Ogun-Lagos axis, while Adedoja is to contest on behalf of Osun-Oyo; and Adeniran is to represent Ekiti and Ondo axis respectively.
The caucus said its action was based on the numerous calls and wise counsel from several quarters to prune down the contestants to manageable number.
