•The Inside Story Revealed!
The governorship race in Oyo State got hotter at the weekend as the two leading candidates, Governor Seyi Makinde, contested a second term election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the major opposition party in the state, All Progressives Congress (APC’s) candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin burnt their tracks sand in order to beat, each other to the Agodi Government House.
After working for the victory of the APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the February 25, 2023 election, Engineer Makinde had believed that he had done what most Yoruba electorate wanted and expected that leaders of thought, voters mobilisers and those who are opposed to his second term ambition to see the race beyond party lines.
He was, however, wrong as those he had shabbilly threated after his 2019 victory at the poll that was a joint endeavour of many candidates who stepped down for him based on the persuation of a former Governor of Oyo State, High Chief Rasidi Ladoja, accused Engineer Makinde was accused of reneging on the promises that made the pact that made his victory possible Ladoja had at the time remarked that a man could decieve a wise woman to sleep with him for once. Perhaps, that is why it appeared that Ladoja regarded Makinde’s second term bid a pay back time.
Despite that Ladoja had become the governor of Oyo State on the platform of the PDP, now, he is working for the success of the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin. Ladoja, in demonstration of his resolve to stop Makinde had called on his supporters in the state to work for and cast their ballots for Folarin. As the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, Ladoja was reported in the media to have beckoned on traditional chiefs to say ‘no’ to Makinde.
He did not stop at that, he also rallied traders, market leaders and their followers to be warry of Seyi Makinde. Ladoja told them that the governor was out to use people who made themselves available to him to achieve his ambition of winning his second term bid. “He would dump you, immediately his victory is announced”, Ladoja told his people that Makinde is a breaker of promise.
“He did it to me and others in 2019”.
Ladoja went down the memory lane and recalled how he had amassed a winning coalition for Makinde in the 2019 governorship election and he won. He climbed on Ladoja’s back, supported by many other parties’ candidates, who stepped down for him, to victory only to discard them as mere expendables. It was a game of once beaten, twice shy.
This time round, Ladoja, didn’t hide his choice. He had cast hit lot with Folarin. He cited many governorship candidates who took Makinde’s promise seriously and jumped on the bandwagon of his supporters. All of them were disappointed. What is the guarantee that Makinde would not repeat his gimmick of regarding those who supported him in this March 18 poll as expendables?
Folarin’s camp that needed all manner of supporters alliances to build a winning coalition was not unhappy over Ladoja, a big fish in the political ocean of Oyo State casting his lot with the APC’s candidate’s ambition. City People learnt that Ladoja was not the only catch of the APC’s candidate. Alienated members of the PDP especially those who supported Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the February 25, 2023 presidential election were all ready and more than willing to support Folarin.
The race to the Agodi Government House, thus became a fight between two strong powerful coalitions. On one side, is a coalition led by Makinde and his new allies, while Ladoja led what could be described as protesting coalitior rooting for Folarin to become Governor of Oyo State.
-Tajudeen Adigun
08039180360
