Unknown to many, the primaries to elect flagbearers to fly the All Progressives Congress, APC, in next year’s senatorial election could not hold today (2nd October, 2018) because Governor Abiola Ajimobi finds it difficult to talk other aspirants into adopting former senate leader Teslim Folarin as the party’s candidate for Oyo Central senatorial district election.
The primaries was postponed to tomorrow (3rd October, 2018) due to what the party leaders said became necessary due to “logistic problems.”
The party had fixed today for its nationwide senatorial primaries.
Only last night, the venue for the Oyo Central aspirants which was fixed for Durbar stadium, Oyo, was changed to Akinyele local government secretariat.
Five people- Oyedeji Oyeleru (Oyo West), Faozey Nurudeen (Oyo West), Bimbo Kolade (AFIJIO), Folarin (Ona Ara) and Olatoye Sugar (Lagelu) had bought nomination forms.
While Oyeleru and Faozey are new in politics, Kolade has been commissioner under Ajimobi since 2011; Folarin left the Senate in 2011 after spending two terms while Sugar currently represents Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency. Sugar represented Lagelu state constituency between 2011 and 2015.
Ajimobi’s preference for Folarin was not only because he is his cousin, the governor is desirous of keeping those who joined the APC from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, most of whom are angry over lack of patronage. Ajimobi was said to have promised the PDP decampees a pride of place in the party. Only last week, one of them, former governor Adebayo Alao-Akala pulled out of the governorship primaries that later produced ex-deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Adebayo Adelabu, as winner.
Many of the aspirants, OYO INSIGHT gathered, were against the imposition plan as they threatened that any attempt to do so will jeopardize the chances of the party in the 2019 elections.
This newspaper, however, further gathered that the governor has summoned all the aspirants and party stakeholders to a crucial stakeholders’ meeting billed for tomorrow morning.
