A former chairman of the Odu’a group, Barr. Sharafadeen Alli, is the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State.
His name, sources told OYO INSIGHT, was submitted last Friday by the leadership of the party. This was after he had held talks with his former boss, Sen. Rashidi Ladoja.
This was after the party had scouted for candidate for many months.
Alli, a former council chairman, secretary to the state government and later chief of staff to former governor Ladoja, was one of the 12 aggrieved governorship aspirants of the African Democratic Congress, ADC. Only few days ago, two other governorship aspirants- Engr Remi Olaniyan and Dr Kola Balogun had joined the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to become the deputy governorship and senatorial candidates of the party respectively.
Crisis had rocked the ADC following the announcement of Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin as the party’s governorship candidate. The other aspirants later went to court.
Ladoja, Chief Michael Koleoso, Dr Busari Adebisi and Chief Olayiwola Olakojo were accused for allegedly imposing Lanlehin.
But Ladoja had fired back, saying he didn’t know anything about the selection process in the party. He accused members of the Unity Forum, a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of dominating the ADC. Ladoja’s supporters, mostly those who were unable to get the party’s tickets, later mounted pressure on him to leave ADC.
Sources told this newspaper that Ladoja was said to have called Alli to accept the ticket. Former senator Ayo Adeseun, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, also pleaded to Alli.
