NEWS >> Horse trading in Oyo as opposition parties join PDP
Today, APC the pacesetter state, together with its gubernatorial candidate, Adebayo Adelabu, appears formidable and ready for the battle; but the PDP is also working round the clock to dislodge the ruling party.
The defection of a former governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, to the APC after his meeting with the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, is said to be a plus for the ruling party.
Before his defection, it was Alao-Akala that vowed to ensure that the ruling APC failed in the gubernatorial election. He went ahead and played active role in the formation of an alliance of major opposition parties in the state to achieve the plan.
However, shortly after discussions with Tinubu, the former Oyo governor made a U-turn, dumped the alliance and is now working hard for the success of the APC.
At the height of the plan to defeat APC, Alao-Akala had approached his former boss, former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, on the need to work together with other in The March 9 gubernatorial election in Oyo State seems to be a fierce contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). opposition political parties to defeat the APC. All that is history now.
The senator-elect for Oyo North Senatorial district, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, in a programme on Fresh FM 105.9, in Ibadan, said the APC had re-examined itself and is ready to win Saturday’s gubernatorial election.
However, the ruling party has its fears. The failure of the governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to win during the Feb. 23 senatorial contest to return to the National Assembly after eight years as governor of the state, sends a negative signal to the leadership of the APC which necessitated the involvement of Alao-Akala on a rescue mission.
On the other hand, four opposition political parties he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) - on Monday signed an agreement to present the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP, Mr. Seyi Makinde as consensus candidate for the election.
The meeting of the coalition which started few days to the presidential and National Assembly elections has so far given the opposition elements an aura of hope.
The directors general of campaigns of the aligning parties have already jointly signed a terse statement of the agreement, promising to make details of the agreement public later.
These include Mr. Bayo Lawal (PDP), Alhaji Bashiru Lawal (ADC,); Mr. Waheed Akanbi (ZLP) and Chief M. A. Oke (SDP).
The spokesman of the APC in the state, Dr. Azeze Olatunde, in a telephone interview with Daily Trust said the party has no reason to be jittery of the coalition of the major opposition parties in the state.
He said “Why should we be jittery? All the parties were together in 2011 and 2015, yet we defeated them. If you consider the last presidential election, out of the 14 members of House of Representatives, we have 9 and two senators out of three. Is that not a good result? he queried.
“It is true PDP had the highest number of votes due to some reasons, but I can tell you that they will meet their waterloo on Saturday because this is a different election,” he bragged.