If he finally has his way, Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, has his preferred candidates for the three senatorial districts in the forthcoming 2023 election.
OYOINSIGHT.COM understands that Makinde’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secured just one of the three senatorial districts in the 2019 national assembly election in the state.
While AbdulFatai Buhari and Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, APC, won the Oyo North and Oyo Central seats respectively, Kola Balogun won the Oyo South seat for the PDP.
Oyo Central
Unlike the last election when the PDP fielded Bisi Ilaka from Oyo East local government, Makinde is looking at the direction of Olayemi Busari, who hails from Egbeda local government.
Though Ilaka, who was recently sacked as Makinde’s Chief of staff, is said to be interested in the senatorial seat again, Makinde believes that fielding Busari, his Ibadan-born liaison officer in Abuja, would give him more votes from the state capital.
OYOINSIGHT.COM recalls that APC, in 2019, had a good showing in Oyo Central as its candidates, Akeem Adeyemi (Oyo federal constituency), Olusegun Odebunmi (Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere federal constituency), Tolulope Akande-Sadipe (Oluyole federal constituency), Akin Alabi (Egbeda/Ona federal constituency) and Olu Akintola (Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency) defeated all their PDP counterparts to clinch the 5 house of representatives’ seats in the district.
Ilaka, many political observers within and outside PDP believe, is the poster boy of the party in Oyo federal constituency as he has been aiming to represent Oyo Central since 2007. Busari, who represented Egbeda state constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly between 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP and Egbeda/Ona-Ara federal constituency from 2011 to 2015 on the platform of Accord. They however say he is not as strong as Ilaka.
But one of the binders of Makinde, when asked about the chances of Ilaka and Busari, said that “I can tell you 100 per cent that your conclusion on Oyo Central is not valid. Olayemi has never tickled our boss’ fancy for Senate. Na dem dey permutate but the Gov dey look dem. Ilaka has 73 per cent chances depending on how he handles things going forward.”
OYO North
Though OYOINSIGHT.COM understands that Mulikat Akande-Adeola has interest in the seat, sources close to the party said Olusegun Ogunwuyi, who hails from Ogbomoso South local government, is Makinde’s choice.
This newspaper also understands that Makinde and Mulikat, who was the party’s candidate in the 2019 election, are no longer in good terms over alleged neglect in the running of the party affairs. Mulikat represented Ogbomoso North/Ogbomoso South/Oriire federal constituency between 2007 and 2015 before Ogunwuyi took over from her and was there till 2019.
Though Hosea Agboola, who hails from Itesiwaju local government, has his interest, he may drop his intent if he gets the deputy national chairman (South) slot of the PDP. Ogunwuyi, Makinde’s ‘tear rubber’ chief of staff, represented Ogbomoso South state constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly between 2011 and 2015 on the platform of the PDP before proceeding to the house of representatives with Labour Party, LP, ticker. He rejoined PDP from APC where he had a brief stint and lost his his to return bid to Action Democratic Party, ADP’s Ajao Adejumo in 2019.
Ogunwuyi, before his new position, was executive assistant on investment promotion and later director-general, of Oyo State Investment and Public, Private Partnership Agency, OYSIPPPA.
Oyo South
2023 is going to be an interesting one for all the parties, especially APC and PDP. Apart from the governorship seat which politicians from the zone are eyeing, the Oyo South senatorial seat is going to be another hot contest. APC has more than 12 aspirants.
Though the incumbent, Kola Balogun, who hails form Ibadan North East, is of the PDP, credible sources confided in OYOINSIGHT.COM that the governor has another person in mind to take over from Balogun. Initially, Makinde had Taofeek Arapaja, who represented Ibadan North East/South East federal constituency in the house of representatives between 2003 and 2007 before becoming deputy governor in 2007, in mind, this newspaper can confirm that barring any last minutes’ change of mind, one of Nureni Adeniran and Remi Oseni would get it.
Before rejoining the PDP, their old party, the quarter of incumbent Balogun, Arapaja (now PDP chairman in Southwest), Adeniran (now chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB) and Oseni, were governorship aspirants on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2019 election.
Another source, who also begged not to be named, said Makinde is waiting for a possible disagreement within the APC ranks so as to pick one of them as PDP senatorial candidate in the 2023 poll.
Recall that Makinde had prevented Gbolarumi Hazeem from winning the senatorial ticket in 2019, submitting the names of Bayo Lawal, his immediate past commissioner for local government and chieftaincy matters to INEC. After many days of convincing, though unsuccessfully, Adesoji Akanbi (then of the APC and later ADC), Sharafadeen Alli to take the ticket, he handed it over to Balogun, who went ahead to defeat Ajimobi, late former governor of Oyo.
