Oyo Guber: APC Leaders Intervene To Stop Adelabu’s Defection

Senator Folarin during APC governorship primary defeated Adelabu, who was the party’s 2019 governorship candidate in Oyo State.

Folarin scored 954 votes to defeat four other aspirants who contested the election held, last Friday, at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Adelabu got 327 votes while Azeez Adeduntan, Akeem Alao and Hakeem Agbaje had two, six and 16 votes respectively.

In a statement issued at the weekend, Adelabu rejected the primary which produced Senator Folarin as APC’s governorship candidate.

He alleged that the shadow election was rigged by Folarin, whom he accused of compromising the delegates list used for voting.

Adelabu while addressing his supporters in Ibadan on Sunday, said that he will realise his ambition in another political party.

At the meeting where the movement from APC to another yet-to-be announced party was considered, were Senator Ademola Adeseun, former Oyo South senatorial aspirant, Dr. Olusola Ayandele, former APC deputy Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Chief Goke Oyetunji, Chief Kunle Sanda, former Chairman of Atisbo Local government, Mr. Jacob Ogunmola, former ALGON Chairman, Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye and Mr. Wasiu Ajimobi, a younger brother to the immediate past governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

Adelabu said he is consulting with his followers from the 33 local government areas of the state to know the political party to realise his ambition in 2023.

“Since my followers have asked me to leave APC, we have left the APC. We will sit down with our leaders to decide on the political party to join. We will come back to APC after winning the gubernatorial election, because we are progressives.

“It worked during the time of late Abiola Ajimobi, he left AC and went to ANPP and later came back to ACN. Just give us 48 hours to get back to you to announce the next political party to join,” he said.

Worried by Adelabu’s rejection of the primary results and threat to dump the party, AN24 exclusively gathered that some APC leaders have intervened to prevent Adelabu from defecting to another political party.

The APC leaders are working round the clock to stop Adelabu from leaving the party so that APC, who lost Oyo State to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after eight years uninterrupted two terms of late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, will return to seat of power.

AN24 gathered that Adelabu after the primary election had a series of meetings with some APC leaders in Oyo State and Abuja between Sunday and Monday on how to resolve the matter to prevent his defection to another political party.

Therefore, barring any last minutes change of mind, Adelabu based on the outcome of his ongoing negotiations with APC leaders may announced his decision to remain in APC and team up with Senator Teslim Folarin and other party leaders to send the incumbent Governor packing from the Oyo State Government House come May 29, 2023.