Former governor Rashidi Ladoja has revealed that he did not work together with others to ensure the All Progressives Congress, APC, do not continue beyond 8 years because he wanted to be controlling the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
Ladoja, who spoke in a recent interview published by The Nation to celebrate his 75th birthday, was reacting to insinuation that he has distanced himself from the Makinde administration.
According to him, “No, I have not distanced myself,” adding that “I told you when late former governor Kolapo Ishola was elected; I told him you were the one elected. If you don’t call me to eat with you, I don’t need to come and put my nose into it. When he needs advice, he comes. He was here for two hours yesterday. When he needs advice, he can come. I have not been in government since 2007 when I left the place. I have not been in secretariat since then. What am I going to do there now? There have been three governments in place since then. He is my son, it’s not me; he is in charge now. When you grow old, there is a time when your father will not even call you by name again. My father was calling me Alhaji, later on I became senator, and then; I became governor. That’s how it should be. So, he is in charge. God has a way of doing things. My objective was to dislodge APC government particularly.
“I know that my brother did not build a government that I could be proud of, that was Ajimobi. He had to go; if he had to install somebody, it means his regime will go on. Even if the person wants to make a change, it may not be possible to make the change. God made it possible for us to agree that if this coalition will make it possible for us to send Ajimobi away, let it be. My primary objective was not to rule Oyo State; it was to say the state should have another government.”
Asked if he is proud of Makinde, he retorted: “Of course, yes. I am but you have to understand one thing, Seyi is coming from another background and he has not even settled down. Please let us give him chance to settle down. He has just chosen his commissioners and we have to understand that when you are looking for something particularly, when you want to be governor, you must have made a lot of commitments also on the way. When he was making his commitments, maybe he didn’t think there would be any coalition; now he is trying to find a way of balancing it. His supporters have not complained to me yet over appointments. ZLP told me I should not interfere; I should let them fight their battle. That means they are not happy but if you say that I should be father of everybody; that is who I am. I said Seyi was here yesterday night. We talked about how everything was going on and he assured me that he has not forgotten the pledges he made.”
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