Barely three months to the 2019 general elections, former governor Rashidi Ladoja and his loyalists are divided over whether they should stay with the African Democratic Congress, ADC or move to the newly formed Zenith Labour Party, ZLP.
While majority of his loyalists, especially who secured ADC’s tickets for various elective positions, want him to stay, some aggrieved loyalists want him out of the party. There are also some who said that they will rather return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or fold their arms.
Ladoja and his supporters had left Accord for PDP late last year only to leave the party for ADC few months after owing to leadership tussle between him and PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, Engr Seyi Makinde.
Members of the Unity Forum, a breakaway faction of the Oyo APC, Ladoja’s loyalists, Chief Michael Koleosho’s loyalists from Labour Party, LP as well as members of the Coalition Movement of Nigeria, CNM, had come together to populate the ADC.
As at the time of filing this report, OYO INSIGHT learnt that the 14 ADC members in the Oyo State House of Assembly are currently in a meeting with Ladoja.
Leading the packs of those championing the movement from ADC to ZLP are former Accord state chairman, Bashiru Lawal, ex-Accord National Secretary, Nureni Adisa, Engr Akeem Olatunji and other notable loyalists of the former governor.
“They are bent on contesting the 2019 elections forgetting that they cannot win anything with ZLP. The party can be likened to a dead baby. What is their problems? Do they think they can take us for granted At will? These are the same set up of people who forced us to leave Accord for PDP. They did the same thing when they forced us out of PDP because of something I consider a minor issue. If they want to go, they should go,” one of Ladoja’s ardent supporters confided in this newspaper.
Another source added that they are just citing the litigation against Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin as the reason for leaving, describing it as flimsy.
“These are adults for God sake. Why can’t they sit down and talk. Did they think they will just pick one person out of thirteen people and you expect them to keep shut? No, it isn’t done that way. While I commend Lanlehin for his reconciliatory moves, leaving the party will spell doom for Ladoja and those selfish individuals who think they can push him at all times.”
Meanwhile, an impeccable source confirmed to OYO INSIGHT that Lanlehin would not follow them to ZLP, adding that “Ladoja will lose another round of supporters just like he did when he was leaving PDP. Most people don’t know many of his supporters didn’t leave the party with him.”
At the old Accord state secretariat at Samonda area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, OYO INSIGHT observed that the building now has the colour of the new party with flex banners and posters of the party’s candidates with Ladoja’s pictures in them.
It was learnt that the name of Ladoja’s finance commissioner, Waheed Akanbi, who is standing trial with him for alleged conversion of Oyo State shares for personal use, was submitted to INEC as its dummy candidate. This, sources told OYO INSIGHT, was after he failed to convince Lanlehin and Engr Remi Oseni, in a separate meetings, to fly the party’s flag.
