Former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, on Thursday officially announced his defection from the state chapter of African Democratic Congress (ADC) to Zenith Labour Party.
Ladoja announced his official defection to Zenith Labour Party while addressing journalists at his Ibadan Ondo street residence Thursday morning.
Ladoja, while addressing journalists, said his apprehension in ADC was that the party, the way it was going could not be able to win the gubernatorial election in 2019 and that most of the decision makers in ADC “were invisible”, adding that this made him to leave ADC and join Zenith Labour Party.
Ladoja, who was flanked by the gubernatorial candidate of the Zenith Labour Party in the state, Barrister Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli and scores of his supporters who throng his house as early as 7am, said that the way the ADC was going then, its leaders would not be responsible for the decision they made because “those who are making decision in ADC are invisible”.
He said the inability of the leaders of ADC to carry all the major towns, groups and zones in the state such as the people of Ibarapa geo-political zone, Kajola, Itesiwaju and Iwajowa along, was another reason for his defection from ADC to Zenith Labour Party.
He added that “Most people who are making decisions in ADC are invisible, they are not visible. You can’t see them. That means that they will not be responsible for the decisions they make”.
Ladoja continued, “I told you that my apprehension, my apprehension was that the way we are going we might not be able to win the elections because there are some areas that were not catered for. I told you about some areas in Ibarapa that were not cater for and we have been talking, so on the last day, the Zenith Labour Party, they decided that look, they can’t bear it any more and they decided that they are going to field Barrister Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli as the gubernatorial candidate of the party. They sought my consent.
We are formerly in ADC, I am now in Zenith Labour Party. We have been on it for the past three months. The crisis in ADC were unwarranted. The last straw that broke the camel’s neck was the choice of the deputy. When I got the information on the social media, I called Femi Lanlehin and he said he did not know anything about how the deputy was picked. I called Babalaje, Chief Koleoso, are you aware he said he was not consulted. And I said this cannot hold. It is just courtesy that if you are going to work with me I should be involved in your things.”
Ladoja, who said that he chose his deputy, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala in 2003 and not that he (Alao-Akala) was imposed on him, said it will be wrong to choose a deputy for a hovernor to be, alleging that if a deputy was picked for a governor to be, they will run a parallel government because they will be representing two interests at the detriment of the people.
He said, “I chose Otunba Alao-Akala myself. So he was not imposed on me. I said the way we were going, if we are not very careful, we are going to run parallel government when we get there because your deputy emerged without your consent. So he will say I am representing my group, you are representing your group, so that is not good for governance.”
The ex-governor assured that the Zenith Labour Party remains the party to beat even though it is coming few months to the elections.
He said, “By the grace of God, we will win, you know that the candidate himself is not sleeping, me, you have the candidate and people of goodwill in the state. I still believe that by the grace of God, we will still win in this party.”
