By; BAYO AKAMO. Ibadan
Fresh crisis is now rocking the Oyo State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the party adopted the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin as its candidate for the March 18 elections
However, the party’s governorship candidate, Barrister Michael Lana described the adoption of Senator Folarin as a ruse, insisting that he remained the SDP governorship candidate for the March 18 elections and that the party is still intact in Oyo state.
The Oyo State Chairman of the party, Honourable Michael Okunlade made the adoption of APC candidate known in Ibadan on Thursday, while addressing members of the party at an emergency meeting.
Honourable Okunlade disclosed that in the last 46 months, governance has become something else in Oyo State, saying, “I am sure you all are aware that the governorship election is coming up next week. It should have been in three days’ time but INEC has decided to reschedule the election. Be that as it may, we have decided to go on with our planned press conference”.
” After many meetings with major stakeholders even outside of our party, we arrived at Senator Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Our decision is not based on anything than the development of our dear state. He has the record. He is not someone who would promise what he won’t do. He is as straight as that, ” he said
Hon Okunlade added, ” all these said, I like to enjoin all of us to go out en masse and vote for our house of assembly candidates. The support is just for the governorship, and it ends at that”
“To start with, we all know what brought us here -SDP. Majority of us had decided to join the party owing to the injustice meted to us in the Peoples Democratic Party. And since we started, there has been no problem. Our leaders, starting from our own Alhaja Mulikat Akande Adeola and others have done so very well for us till this point. And we will never take the love for granted”.
According to the SDP Chairman, “in the last 46 months, governance has become something else in Oyo. I am not saying this because we were neglected. In fact, we have moved on long ago. Though I will still get to talk about it. Things are going bad and we are surprised people are not talking about it.
“All those who assisted in putting him in power, where are they today? From Baba Rashidi Ladoja to Engr. Raufu Olaniyan, to our own Alhaji Mulikat Akande Adeola to Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeyan to Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin, to Barr. Sharafadeen Alli (now Senator-elect). The list is endless. Rather than leave us to our fate, some of us cannot sleep in our houses because thugs are being sent to us.
The SDP Chairman stressed, ” in over four years of governance, Makinde has rolled back the achievements of past governments, and returned our state to the locust years”, adding, ” we believe that to right these wrongs, there is need for us to form a virile coalition with a party that can dislodge this administration that has shown itself to be lacking in development”.
“That is why, after many meetings with major stakeholders even outside of our party, we arrived at Sen. Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Our decision is not based on anything than the development of our dear state. He has the record. He is not someone who would promise what he won’t do. He is as straight as that.
“All these said, I like to enjoin all of us to go out en masse and vote for our house of assembly candidates. The support is just for the governorship, and it ends at that
Members of the Social Democratic Party in Oyo State on Thursday said they have adopted the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin as their preferred choice.
Addressing a Press conference in Ibadan, Barrister Lana declared that the purported adoption of the APC governorship candidate was a ruse and unacceptable, saying, ” it has just come to my notice that the leadership of our Party, the Social Democratic Party in Oyo State of which I am the governorship candidate has collapsed its structure for Senator Teslim Folarin, the candidate of the APC.”
Barrister Lana declared “while it is right for every person to choose he or she wants to vote for, it is however unfortunate the way and manner this has happened, though none of us from Ibadan is surprised because from the beginning the body language of the State Chairman had shown that he never meant well for the party despite all our efforts”.
” First, they alleged that I am not as rich as other contestants but they cannot fault that I have refused to be wealthy because I have to use my law practice to fight for the poor and the downtrodden and they have not been able to show that the wealthy that the wealthy candidates they want to support are better than me in taking our people from the doldrums of abject poverty or they have the kind of integrity that I have.”
