Former Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State is not getting the support of his wife, a former First Lady of the state, over his decision to withdraw support for Governor Seyi, the incumbent and former ally who is seeking a re-election.
Makinde and the former governor were close political associates until recently when they parted ways after their party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were roundly defeated by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, during the recent presidential and National Assembly eletions.
But Mutiya, the wife of the former governor, believed to be a grassroots politician has refused to support her husband who has thrown his weight behind the governorship candidate of the APC, Teslim Folarin.
The decision of Ladoja to dump Makinde for another candidate has polarised the PDP in the state, nonetheless the home of the former governor, because of his wife decision to remain with the governor.
“The former First Lady is solidly behind us. She has remained with the governor since his first day in office, and not withdrawn her support despite the challenges facing the party. She is a loyal, part woman and a grassroots leader who is doing everything to ensure that Govrnor Makinde wins on Saturday,” a source close to the governor said on Friday.
When asked if Governor Makinde can win without the support of Ladoja, the source simply stated “what else does Ladoja want from the governor. The governor has been good to him, including buying him a bulletproof car worth N120 million.”
The former governor who ruled the state between 2003 and 2007 is very popular in the state, therefore, his supoort for the APC candidate has boosted his chances, with many in the state saying that Makinde ‘s loss is Folarin’s gain.
Considering the serious challenges the governor is facing with his former political ally, not a few insist that Makinde will struggle to be re-elected, even though his aides said his performance in terms of providing critical infrastructure for the people of the state, since he came to office in 2019, will work in his favour.
The problem facing the governor started three weeks ago after his party was roundly defeated in the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Apart from losing huge votes to the APC, the PDP could not win any of the three Senatorial seats in the state, while the House of Reps seat mostly fell into the hands of the APC.
Some chieftains of the party had blamed the governor for the woeful performance, citing his decision to join a group of five state governors, led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, who failed to work for Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate.
Recall that the G5 governor withdrew there support for Abubakar following the bqxklqsh of the PDP presidential primary held last year, as well as the party’s refusal to sack Iyorcha Ayu, PDP National Chairman as demanded the angry governors.
Since the PDP lost the election, things has not remained the same with the Oyo State chapter of the party, so much so, that few days after Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner, and APC candidates announced as winners of the three Senatorial and House of Representatives seats, supported of Ladoja immediately withdrew their support for Governor Makinde, after blaming him for the defeat the party suffered.
Ex Governor Ladoja would later add salt to the governor’s injury by declaring his support for Folarin. Like his supporters, the former governor accused Makinde for the loses suffered by the party in the state, for instance, he lampooned the governor for not providing financial and logistics for PDP candidates during the election, urging his supporters to punish the governor for being selfish.
Ladoja said, “In the just concluded National Assembly elections, all the three senators under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party lost. And this is not about the history of Oyo State, but also about the history of the person in power. We saw an example of this in Osun State.
”Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has only been in power for three months, yet he was able to clear all the House of Representatives and senatorial seats for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the just concluded National Assembly elections. And then, we have to know that Osun State is in a peculiar position because it is the roots of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect.
”After Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, picked the PDP House of Representatives and senatorial candidates to represent the state at the National Assembly, he didn’t offer any form of support to them.
”He didn’t spend money to support them or gave out a word to the citizens for any single one of them. Even God detests actions that are unfair and unjust.
”So when Saturday, March 18 comes, please, leave all you are doing and go out to cast your votes for Teslim Folarin, the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.
”One of our major mobilisers in the PDP called Olopoeyan recently defected to the camp of APC. Also, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) chapters of Oyo State have adopted Teslim Folarin as their preferred governorship candidate,” he said.
”Some political parties are also considering adopting Folarin already. However, I believe all will be sorted out in the coming days. Please, I am appealing to my loyalists to cast their votes for Folarin in the forthcoming gubernatorial election,” the former governor said.
