Ahead of today’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) former Oyo state governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala has declined to participate in the process.
The former governor in a statement made available to newsmen said the incumbent, Senator Isiaka Ajimob, was plotting to impose his anointed candidate, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe on the party delegates. He vowed not to be a party to what he dismissed as a charade while calling on his supporters to await further directives.
A party source revealed that a senior aide of Governor Ajimobi on Saturday conveyed his principal’s threat to elected council chairmen. An embattled governor Ajimobi has threatened to remove any of the elected local government chairman in the 33 councils who failed to deliver his council to the governor anointed candidate, Joseph Tegbe.
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Others in the race for the primary to hold today are Project Director and Director at Integrated Energy Distribution And Marketing Limited, Dr Olusola Ayandele, legal luminary, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), former Commissioner for Health, Dr Owolabi Babalola, immediate past Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan and former Deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adebayo Adelabu.
Further investigation revealed that at a meeting the Governor held with the aspirants on Friday at the Government House in Agodi, he pleaded with them individually in a private discussion to withdraw from the race and allow his anointed, Joseph Tegbe have an easy ride as a consensus candidate.
The party source privy to the meeting further noted that the governor new stance ran contrary to his earlier agreement with some of the aspirants to make it a 3 horse race. The initial plan was to prune the aspirants for today’s race to three: Joseph Tegbe, legal luminary, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, and former deputy governor of the Central Bankk of Nigeria, (CBN) Adegoke Adelabu.
Further findings revealed that governor Ajimobi held a meeting on Friday night with party chairmen at the local councils to give them a directive ” that their delegates must do his bidding on Joseph Tegbe.”
