The Labour Party Chairman, Hon Sodiq Atayese has made a clarification on the news flying around that the gubernatorial candidate of the party, Taofeeq Akinwale had refused to jettison his ambition having been asked to step down during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party where Governor Seyi Makinde’s re-election bid was adopted.
Atayese made the clarification yesterday night while granting an interview to ODUDUWA NEWS.
The chairman maintained that Akinwale Taofiq still remains the candidate of the party if he desires to continue his ambition but the structure of the party has been pulled out from him and handed over to Engr. Seyi Makinde who is seeking to continue as the Governor of the State for second term.
He affirmed that the party never coerced its gubernatorial candidate to step down but what they did was to pull out the party structure from him and adopted another candidate who shares the same ideology with the party and has a brighter chance of winning an election.
The State Party chairman, Hon Sodiq Atayese further averred that the party arrived at the decision owing to the fact that the ideology of PDP led administration in the state resonates with that of Labour Party. Hence, the need to support his re-election ahead of Taofiq Akinwale who is the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party.
A socio-cultural group based in Iseyin, Ebedi Renaissance, Iseyin (ERI) has disclosed that they have information that suggested that the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the coming gubernatorial election, Senator Teslim Folarin would abandon the projects established by the present administration of Governor Seyi Makinde in Iseyin community, including the newly-established Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH)’s College of Agricultural Science and Renewable Natural Resources.
The college’s campus, located along Iseyin-Okeho road has been experiencing various construction projects among which is the administration building, offices and lecture rooms.
The group, in a statement, issued on Sunday at Iseyin and signed by its Chairman, Mr Ismail Alani, said the people of Iseyin would rather keep their fates with the current administration by re-electing the incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde than gambling by electing any other candidate in the 11th March 2023 election.
ERI claimed that the recent utterances and actions of the APC candidate did not show that he will favor Iseyin as a community and its people.
“The people of Iseyin have come to a conclusion to re-elect the candidate that stood with them at their time of need, we cried about poor roads, Seyi Makinde came to our aid, we asked for inclusion in his cabinet and he gave us a commissioner.
“He has touched our lives in every facet of life, education, health, social amenities among many other things that space may not allow us mention.
“What touches us most is the college which we have heard him (Teslim Folarin) say at different fora that Iseyin is a village that does not deserve an institution of higher learning, thank God he said it this early.
“We are using this opportunity to tell Senator Folarin and others with the same mindset about our community, that we are not gambling with our votes, we are solidly behind Seyi Makinde.”
Ebedi Renaissance, Iseyin (ERI) called on all indigenes of the community to be resolute in their pursuit of growth for the community by going out on the day of the gubernatorial election and vote for governor Seyi Makinde.
The Labour Party in Oyo State has adopted the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Seyi Makinde ahead of March 11 gubernatorial election.
The Party, which has been having impressive run during the election process has disclosed at Press Conference held on Sunday at the party Secretariat, Molete, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
The Press Conference was attended by all the State Working Committee of the party, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates and members of the party.
The State Party chairman, Hon Sodiq Atayese said the party arrived at the decision owing to the fact that the ideology of PDP led administration in the state resonates with that of Labour Party, hence, the need to support his re-election ahead of Taofiq Akinwale who is the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party.
The management of Dele Bajaj Foundation (DBF) and BMU Construction Limited extends its congratulatory message to Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who won the just-concluded Nigeria Presidential Election with an incredible margin.
Dele Bajaj Foundation (DBF) is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nongovernmental organization founded by Mr. Usman Muhideen Bamidele (Olorunwa) with the aim of building a formidable society through developing capacities of different forms and youth empowerment.
In a congratulatory message released and personally signed by the founder of the foundation who also doubles as the CEO of BMU Construction Limited, Mr Bamidele Olohunwa expressed his joy for the election that went free and fair and commended the independent National Electoral Commisssion for thier sincerity of purpose towards the success of the election. He described Tinubu’s victory as an imminent sign of accelerated development in our dear nation.
The statement reads thus:
“I heartily rejoice and felicitate the newly elected President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his emergence at the just-concluded election. Your landslide victory is a testimony to your outstanding performance so far and leadership skills.
“Looking at his victory, everyone could testify to the fact that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a focused leader and an architect of modern democracy. His popularity and wide acceptability across all tribes in Nigeria attests to this. Nigerians will experience accelerated development without religion or ethnic sentiments. Asiwaju has been doing his assignment for a long time now and it’s no gainsaying that his victory is well-deserved. There are lessons to be learnt in the election, and the most important one is the need to build people, as by so doing, one is also building oneself.
“It is crystal clear that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a focused and transformative leader, dogged fighter, strategic planner, and builder of first-class. He transformed and improved the economy of Lagos State beyond reasonable doubt. Obviously, his wealth of experience in politics and leadership will be used for the transformation and development of our dear nation.”
While rounding off his message, he wished Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu good health and God’s wisdom to steer the ship of Nigeria in the next dispensation. He also used the opportunity to appreciate the supporters and beneficiaries of the foundation across the length and breadth of Nigeria for voting for competence, credibility, antecedent, and achievement over sentiments and religious bigotry.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has dismissed a report on the ownership of a property located on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja, where some persons were arrested with electoral materials, including Bi-Modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) during the Presidential election which took place on Saturday, 25th February 2023.
The Speaker, who clarified in a statement titled: ‘For the record: I do not own Property on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama Abuja’, disclosed that the occupants of the property are known to the authorities of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“A few days ago, while the collation process for the presidential election, which was held on Saturday 25 February, 2023, was ongoing, social media posts made by some unscrupulous people suggested that some persons were arrested with electoral materials, including the Bi-Modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and that the property where the purported persons were arrested belongs to me.
“I wish to put it on record that I DO NOT own any property on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja.
Besides, the Nigeria Police Force has debunked the news via a press release by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
The police press release stated: “Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), acting on a tip from residents of an area in Maitama who reported suspicious activities, visited the location, interviewed the occupants, and conducted a search on the house. In the course of the search, some electoral materials and BVAS machines were discovered in their possession. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, when contacted, confirmed that the occupants of the house are staff of Emperor Technology, outsourcing engineering services to the INEC, and they were immediately released to go about their lawful business.”
There has been fallout among members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Oyo State after the last presidential election which produced Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the president of the country.
Some aggrieved members of the PDP have vowed to work against the emergence of Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde for second term due to his role in making sure that the PDP presidential candidate lost Oyo State to APC in the last presidential poll.
Meanwhile, some of the aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Oyo State, under the platform called PDP Vanguard, have declared their support for the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate, Teslim Folarin, on Saturday, March 11, 2023.
The group, made up of about 190,000 supporters disclosed this in a statement on their official Twitter account @pdpvanguard, on Wednesday.
The statement read: “It is essential that every eligible voter in Oyo State exercises their right to vote.
“The importance of this cannot be overstated, as every single vote counts and can make a significant difference in the outcome of the election.
“Folarin is the answer!”
Meanwhile, a statement by Folarin’s media aide, Yekeen Olaniyi, on Thursday, welcomed the development, calling on other opposition parties to take a cue from the PDP Vanguard by joining him to rescue the state from Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
Olaniyi said, “Oyo State security system has shamefully degraded from a mountaintop of excellence during the days of “Operation Burst” to a despicable gutter of security deterioration such that the state residents now live in palpable fear and tension.”
On Wednesday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) denied having a standing agreement with governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state as speculated.
The PCC was apparently reacting to a meeting the governor had with aggrieved candidates of the PDP for a national assembly, where Makinde begged for their support on the March 11 governorship election to defect to APC in the future.
According to a filler from Makinde’s camp, the governor told aggrieved candidates that he had agreed with the president-elect that he would defect to the APC after the election, and the president-elect supported his idea.
But reacting to the news of the so-called agreement between the president-elect and the governor, a member of the PCC in the state, Queen Nike Ajagbe, said Makinde was only deceiving his members, adding that the visit of the campaign team had nothing to do with the endorsement of the governor.
She said a president-elect is a party man who cannot joke with the success of his party across the country, especially the South West, which is regarded as his stronghold.
Speaking further, Ajagbe explained that it was in the programme of the campaign committee to visit all the opposition governors whenever they are in their state for the campaign; hence nobody should see it as an endorsement but a privilege to host a widely accepted presidential candidate.
The Member, Directorate of Special Duties 3, PCC said being the governor of the state; the president-elect only visited governor Makinde as he did to other opposition governors whenever he visited their states.
Citing the example of the River state governor and other state governors where the president-elect visited the government House before proceeding on campaigns, the Personal Assistant and Special Accountant to MKO on Hope 93 said she was part of all the visits of the president-elect to Makinde. No agreement was made between the campaign team and Makinde.
She said for Makinde to know that Tinubu is a party man, she said immediately the president-elect left Makinde’s office, he went straight to the ancient Mapo Hall to raise the hand of the governorship candidate of the party, Senator Teslim Folarin.
The PCC of the party said people are surprised to read that the governor claimed he had an agreement with the president-elect when he was unable to disclose his support for the president-elect elect openly, especially when he remarked that people of the state should vote for a unifier of the country during the governorship debate on Splash FM.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin, in a statement by his media aide, YSO Olaniyi, condemned the governor for lavishing N500million on aggrieved PDP candidates and other stakeholders.
Folarin said Makinde has demonstrated that he has nothing to offer the good people of the state than spending lavishly to please his partymen, adding that it was the same way Makinde was spending the state resources on a private jet while fighting for the so-called G-5 governors in his party.
The three-term senator, therefore, urged the people of the state to vote massively for the APC in March 11 governorship election to maintain the same party both at the federal and state levels.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, will on Friday, join his Oyo State counterpart, Engr Seyi Makinde, to inaugurate the completed Ibadan Airport road project and the Aviation Fuel Tank Depot within the airport.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Ibadan by the Oyo State commissioner Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, other projects to be flagged off include the Omololu Olunloyo Park in Ibadan. Dr Olatubosun said that the projects were part of the state government’s quest to boost its economy and create accessible roads in the state.
According to him, the Park project, on completion, would create an additional economic impact in the state, while the inaugurated project would also be beneficial to residents of the airport road. He added that the projects were expected to boost the domestic economy, as well as industrialisation in the country.
The vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said the party will challenge the results of Saturday’s presidential election in court.
Baba-Ahmed alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) used irregularities and violated the Constitution to win the presidential poll.
The APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was declared winner of the election by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
Asiwaju Tinubu polled 8.8 million votes to defeat his closest rivals, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of LP and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Nigeria’s main opposition party was defeated in the race to clinch the nation’s number one seat of power, the office of the presidency. After its defeat, some members who are not happy with what was experienced so far in the polity, have decided to walk out of the party.
Although the aggrieved members of the PDP are yet to publicly announce their possible destination, but some are actually resigning their membership from the main opposition party.
After Atiku Abubakar’s loss, a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, has announced his resignation from the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to a report, Fayose announced his resignation from the PDP on Wednesday, March 1st while appearing as a guest on a programme on ARISE News.
Fayose said his decision to quit the party appears to be connected with perceived irreconcilable differences in the PDP, which according to him, has fractured the party.
