The Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin, has said the 2023 general elections will finally determine who is political heavyweight between himself and the gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party, Adebayo Adelabu.
Folarin, who is the Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District stated this on a radio programme on Saturday in Ibadan.
When asked why he hijacked the party structure, Folarin, who spoke in Yoruba language, said other aspirants also attempted to hijack the party structure and the congress that produced him as candidate.
In his words: “I wouldn’t want to mention names of those who bought vehicles and made cash payment to those who were assigned to conduct the exercise in Oyo State.
“One should know his limit, you can’t get what you are not yet ripe for.
“I knew when Adelabu joined the All Progressives Congress. I joined the party in 2017.
“But you people can appeal to him to return to the APC fold.”
Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde’s Campaign Media Team, on Saturday, advised candidates of opposition parties in the State not to engage in a wasteful gubernatorial venture that will lead to nowhere, saying their attempt to unseat the governor is an exercise that is doomed to be unsuccessful.
The chairman of the Omituntun 2.0 Media Team, Prince Dotun Oyelade, stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan, urging the governorship candidates of the opposition parties, who he said has no tangible plan for the state, to quit the race and save their resources.
According to Oyelade, in 2019 when Makinde depended only on the sanctity of his mission and the faith the ordinary people had in him, he defeated all the combined forces of the then incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) state government, the Bourdillon machinery, the presidency with its limitless financial resources as well as their minions such as Teslim Folarin, Adebayo Adelabu.
The BCOS Chief Executive declared that the duo of Folarin and Adelabu as well as a few other governorship candidates do not stand any chance of defeating Makinde, because of his unprecedented achievements in the areas of security, health, education and economic expansion.
He said: “With the unprecedented achievements in infrastructure and human capital development as well as the people-centred policies of the Governor Makinde administration in the last three years and some months, these individuals do not chance with the Oyo State residents, who have never had governance better.
“In 2019, they all came together like Goliath against a David [Makinde] and they could only garner 39 per cent of the total votes or 357, 982,000 while Seyi Makinde cleared 515,621,000 or 57 per cent of the votes.
“In 2022, by a fatal twist of political fate, the two major contestants who engaged in a bitter fight for the APC governorship ticket, Folarin and Adelabu, have not only managed to decimate the party, they have torn it into shreds with one going to the Accord Party with half of what remained of APC.
“To the uninitiated, the clamour to govern Oyo State is the reason for this self-immolation but to those who know, it is all about Folarin and Adelabu, who have sworn to undo each other on the path to the Agodi Government House 2023.”
Oyelade added that as a mark of their unpreparedness for the job and their incapability to match the excellent leadership on offer under Governor Makinde, the two candidates have failed to marshal any cogent plan for the state, rather sticking to blind criticisms and attacks on Makinde’s policies and projects.
“It is sad enough and we feel the people of Oyo State should note, that the duo of Folarin and Adelabu do not have any plan for Oyo State. Though the two of them have been going from one engagement to another, using highfalutin words and promising heaven on earth, it is clear that they lack the understanding of the job.
“You needed to listen to and see the pitiable figures the two of them cut during the live interviews they attended separately at Agidigbo FM, at the weekend.
“Obviously, they both had one thing in common, the difficulty they are having in their attempts to put down the solid achievements of Governor Makinde in the past three and a half years.
“Only recently, Adelabu did not just praise-sing Makinde’s numerous achievements on a live radio programme, he loudly said both in English and Yoruba that “you don’t change a winning team,” meaning that Governor Makinde’s good works should be allowed to continue beyond 2023.
“The other one, Folarin, has proven to be a masterful liar, who tries hard to rubbish everything Makinde has achieved but cannot answer simple questions on how he would do things differently.
“With the good governance provided by Governor Makinde, which has led to the delivery of world class infrastructure including roads, world-class stadium and mini-stadia, bus terminals, Primary Health Care Centres and model schools, it is clear that Oyo State is safer and better with Makinde as governor beyond 2023.
“In any case, if the splinter in the APC is not enough to finally sound the death knell on the ambitions of unprepared Folarin and Adelabu, the outstanding achievements of the governor will do the job.
“But then, what is the need to allow these two men waste their resources on a failed venture? This is why we advise them and any other purporting to be a governorship candidate, to sheathe their swords, save their resources and allow Makinde continue the good job of leading the state on the path of sustainable development, having delivered accelerated development in the first term of office.”
