After many days of intense search, OYO INSIGHT can report that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has settled for Engr. Remi Olaniyan as his running mate for the 2019 election.
He is to be unveiled at a press conference this week, sources confided in this newspaper.
Olaniyan, a retired permanent secretary in the state civil service, is one of the 12 aggrieved governorship aspirants of the African Democratic Congress, ADC. He had joined the ADC with members of the Unity Forum, a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Makinde and the leadership of the PDP in the state had had sleepless nights looking for a ‘sellable’ Muslim from the 10 local government areas in Okeogun geo-political zone of the state.
People like Barr. Mikail Alarape, a former Oyo speaker; Tajudeen Kareem, a former House of Representatives’ member and others were suggested.
Makinde was said to have arrived at Olaniyan’s choice after consulting with many notable indigenes of Okeogun.
The Ighoho-born civil engineer had after Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin was announced as ADC governorship candidate, lent his support to his emergence. But an impeccable source said Olaniyan did so thinking he would be considered as Lanlehin’s running mate.
Olaniyan, in the news published by Nigerian Tribune, had described the emergence of Lanlehin as a good decision taken in the overall interest of the of the state, stressing that the process that threw up the former senator was fair and credible.
Only few days ago, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, pasted the names of Hon. Saheed Adejare, a former Iseyin local government boss, as ADC deputy governorship candidate, an action, sources told this newspaper, made Olaniyan to “finally lose hope in his bid to run with Lanlehin. That was why he decided to settle to run with Makinde.”
Neither Olaniyan nor Makinde’s media aides could be reached for comment as at the time of filing this report.
