Senior advocate and governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Niyi Akintola has revealed how Engr. Seyi Makinde, now governor, and others persuaded him to pick the senatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo South when he could not get the APC gubernatorial ticket.
OYOINSIGHT.COM recalls that Akintola, a former deputy speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, was one of the governorship aspirants who were persuaded to step down for Oloye Bayo Adelabu in the October 1, 2018 governorship primaries of the APC in the state.
Speaking recently in an interview with ThePUNCH, Akintola disclosed that he rejected it due to lots of factors.
According to Akintola, who is the Aare Bamofin of Ibadanland, “Yes. Thanks to Governor Seyi Makinde; Dare Adeleke; Prince Dotun Oyelade because they actually made efforts for me to cross over and pick Oyo South senatorial ticket. But what would I say to some people because there is something I leanrt from Chief Bola Ige that I would not forget. You are not to engage in fight with anybody; you must know the opponents you are facing but you should first of all appreciate people behind you. If I move to PDP, what I would be telling Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Governor Fashola, chief Bisi Akande? What would I tell Chief Bola Ige and Awolowo when I meet them in heaven?.”
Asked if that action makes him an unrepentant progressive, he replied “Yes, I am an unrepentant progressive,” adding that “Yes. Every party has its plus and minus. The perception is different from what you think. People belief that PDP is an enclave of all sorts of people; drug pushers, etc but we have very many good people in that PDP. For those of us in APC, the perception is that we are propagandists, highly intelligent but criminally minded. These are the perceptions but not all of us are propagandists; not all of us are criminally intelligent and not all of us have intelligent without integrity. It is a perception and we would continue to correct those perceptions. People alleged of us of being master of propaganda as if PDP is not also engaging in propaganda.”
