Rashidi Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo state recently held a meeting with Governor Seyi Makinde and Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate at his residence in Ibadan, the state’s capital. The major issue the three politicians discussed at the meeting is how to ensure that Atiku wins the state convincingly in the 2023 presidential election despite the crisis rocking the party over the continued stay in office of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorcha Ayu.
Makinde is Ladoja’s political son and according to those close to the two politicians, the governor listens to him.
Also being a strong ally of the former vice president, Ladoja was invited by Atiku to speak with the governor who alongside four other PDP governors has been up in arms against Atiku over his refusal to prevail on Ayu to step down. Atiku insists that he has no power to force Ayu out of office.
Five PDP governors led by Governor Nyesom Wike have demanded the resignation of Ayu after accusing him of corruption and partisanship during the party’s presidential primary in May this year from which Atiku emerged as the party’s flagbearer for next year’s election.
Governors Makinde, Samuel Ortom of Benue state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu stare, and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state are in the same league as Wike to force Ayu out of office. Ayu has refused to step down and has been backed up by Atiku who said the National Chairman can only step down after next year’s election.
The situation has presented a very dicey situation for Governor who is the only governor among the five aggrieved PDP governors seeking to return to the office next year.
The governor will either support Atiku or drown with him, by not returning to the office some political experts watching what’s currently playing out said.
Makinde reiterated during a radio program in the state to bolster his governorship campaign reiterated the position of the governors led by Wike, that Ayu must step down before they can work for Atiku.
The stakes were further raised after Makinde said he will back any presidential candidate supported by Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba social cultural body. The body has already thrown its weight behind Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
But politicians close to the governor in the state insist that Makinde has no other choice but to work for Atiku failure of which he will lose his support base and the governorship election next year.
“We have already told Makinde that we will work for Atiku, failure to do that will end up in a catastrophic defeat for PDP in the state because the opposition parties can latch on the division among us plot our defeat,” an aide to Makinde said anonymously.
The source said PDP leaders had already met with Makinde and presented their position that they will support Atiku “whether Ayu leaves office or not”.
“We cannot take that gamble of relinquishing our support for Atiku our presidential candidate”, another member of Omituntun Governorship Campaign council said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, some PDP members across the 33 local government councils in the state, led by a former Minister of Mines and Steel, Elder Wole Oyelese met in Ibadan where they restate their support for Atiku.
The group said Makinde has taken his support for Governor Wike too far by opposing Atiku’s presidential bid. Whether the governor likes it or not, the group said, they will support Atiku to win the election.
Oyelese said Makinde is on his own. “A good politician will not speak like that. It doesn’t mean anything if Makinde says he will not work for Atiku. He is on his own! It is an empty threat! If he said we should not vote for Atiku, who are we voting for? We are too sophisticated for that in Oyo state.
Makinde is a newcomer in Oyo State politics but we shall continue to work for our party.“However, we are working for Atiku in a special way. My advice for any politician who wants to win in Oyo State is to come to the mainstream. Mainstream is the leadership of the party in the state,“ the former minister said.
Makinde’s caucus Advises Him To Dump Wike
The magazine learned that members of the governor’s cabinet, particularly his inner caucus have already told him to tone down his opposition to Atiku if he wants to succeed in his re-election bid.
“How can you tell people to vote for PDP in other election category and not vote for Atiku? That will cause confusion for the supporters of the PDP in the state, who are mostly illiterate. The governor is in a quagmire really, because of his support for Governor Wike. But the Rivers governor is not seeking a reelection,” another PDP stalwart in the state, who said he’s not permitted to speak for the governor said on Thursday.
What Fayose Told Makinde and Wike In Port Harcourt
When Governor Wike met with some of his allies recently in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, to discuss the way forward the former Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose was said to have told Wike “to pipe low” and find a way to resolve the ‘Ayu matter’ amicably instead of attacking Atiku.
The former Ekiti governor told the governors and others present at the meeting that they should sheathe their swords for now until after the 2023 election “after which they can now fight to the end” if Ayu refused to resign,” sources at the meeting told the magazine.
Governor Makinde and a few others who attended the meeting were said to have agreed with Fayose on this point that Ayu will be forced out of office after Atiku must have won the election.
