The people of Oyo State are awaiting the return to power of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019 because of the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress to deliver on promises made to the electorate and the generality of citizenry.
A gubernatorial aspirant of the party, who was also a former Secretary to the State Government, Chief Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, made the remark while fielding questions from a cross section of journalists during a live interview programme of the South West Political Headquarters on Fresh FM, Ibadan at the weekend.
Alli scored the APC-led Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration low in education, health, industrial revolution, access roads and many more, but alluded to the construction of city roads and was quick to add that quite a lot are still left undone across the five geopolitical zones of the State.
The former Oyo SSG, who was a running mate to Adebayo Alao-Akala in the 2015 general election on the platform of the Labour Party, also dispelled the rumour that he stepped down for the former Governor after millions of naira had allegedly exchanged hands between them for him to forgo his LP gubernatorial ticket, adding: “People most times react to things on perception.
“Otunba Alao-Akala is alive and you journalists can go and ask him if I collected a dime from him.
“The party elders and a number of other aspirants in the party felt all of us should allow him to fly the LP ticket because of his political standing.
“How much could he have offered me in 2015 because I was richer then than now?
“I swear by Almighty Allah that I didn’t collect any money from him and all the promises he made to the party were not even fulfilled after he secured our ticket.
“It was an experience that many of them are still regretting till today.”
Addressing the internal rift within the PDP following the outcome of the congresses of November 2017, Alli said: “The matters in Oyo PDP will be resolved if people in Abuja could leave us alone.
“Every politics is local and we have had a properly constituted Congress, which produced Alhaji Kunmi Mustafa-led Exco and everybody in the party accepts him as the Chairman.
“Also, the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has assured us that the impunity of the past has gone forever.
“That whoever has money should spend it within his state and not bring such to Abuja again.
“Politics is about marketing.
“Everybody is expected to market himself to secure the party’s ticket and our leader, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has assured all the gubernatorial aspirants of level playing ground.
“A committee headed by Chief Jacob Adetoro is also in place to look into the grievance that anybody may put forward.
“So what’s more?
“For me I don’t see any crisis in what some people are seeing as crisis in the party.
“It has always been like that.
“The purpose of wanting to have people in the Exco is one: to know what is happening at the party level and secondly for them to do your bidding when it is time for congress.
“But experience has shown that it doesn’t work that way because those you put in position can turn against you when you needed them most.
“What is fashionable now is to work hard and market yourself to the people and once they believe in you and what you stand for, winning party’s ticket and general election wouldn’t be a serious problem.
“From that perspective, I am marketing myself to party men and women because that is the way to get their support.
“And by the grace of God and with the support of the people in Oyo State, I will be the next governor in 2019.
“My focus will be on education turn around, quality infrastructure, agricultural revolution, health rebirth, economic rediscovery to empower our people and investment drive for employment generation because I have done it before as Chairman, Odu’a Investment Company Limited and I will do it better as governor of the state by the grace of Almighty God.”