Former governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Ladoja, has announced his defection from the state chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and directed his supporters to dump the party move to Zenith Labour Party.
Last week, Ladoja alleged that a group within the ADC, Unity Forum, had changed the winning template designed for ADC ahead of 2019 general elections.
He gave the ADC 48 hours to change its deputy gubernatorial candidate of the party, Saheed Alaran.
The failure of the ADC leaders to heed to the advice of the former governor made him to dump the ADC and opt for the Zenith Labour Party at the weekend.
Ladoja, after dumping ADC, asked the leadership of the Zenith Labour Party to forward the name of former Secretary to the State Government, Sharafadeen Alli, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s new gubernatorial candidate, to meet the commission’s deadline for substitution of candidates names.
Ladoja’s former finance commissioner, Waheed Akanbi, had in October emerged the candidate of the ZLP.
Alli was one of the 12 aggrieved gubernatorial aspirants that challenged the emergence of the ADC candidate, Olufemi Lanlehin, before an Abuja Federal High Court.
Ladoja, while addressing journalists on Sunday at his Bodija Ibadan residence, said he had no personal grudges with the Alaran, a former council caretaker chairman from Iseyin, becoming deputy governor. He said the party would suffer from the votes of the region if the “mistake by a group within ADC is allowed to go unchallenged”.
The former governor said for instance, Alaran hails from Iseyin, the same local government where the federal lawmaker in Iseyin/Kajola/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa constituency who got automatic ticket hails from. He said the state House of Assembly member who represents Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency, is also from Iseyin.
He said other local governments in the zone and by extension, entire Oke Ogun, would feel cheated and may end up punishing the party by denying it their votes in the general elections.
