There is rumpus in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, over the reported decision by Governor Seyi Makinde to offer Oyo South ticket to Mr. Joseph Tegbe, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tegbe, an ally of the late governor Abiola Ajimobi, defected to the PDP last week, citing irreconcilable differences in his former party.
He was an APC governorship aspirant in the 2019 general election alongside Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) and others. Chief Bayo Adelabu won the governorship ticket, but lost to Makinde with a wide margin. The governor’s electoral success was made possible by a coalition of opposition parties coordinated by former governor Rashidi Ladoja.
Justifying his defection last week, Tegbe lamented that the APC in Oyo State had been hijacked by a minority, with the support of the Mai Mala Buni-led defunct National Extraordinary Convention Committee.
The Nation gathered that his defection was motivated by Makinde’s offer of Oyo South ticket. A sibling of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Sen. Kola Balogun, currently occupies the seat. He is the only PDP senator in the state.
The decision to offer the ticket to Tegbe has thrown the party into pandemonium in the district, as Balogun’s supporters and other strong aspirants oppose the move.
A group, the Ibadan Peace Movement, described the decision not to return Olubadan’s brother in the next election as an attempt to strip Oba Lekan Balogun naked.
The body, in a statement by its spokesman, Aiki Samson, said the ruling party risked losing the 2023 general election if another person was picked.
The statement said: “We are miffed about what we are hearing concerning Oyo South. Sen. Balogun is someone we are proud of. Despite being in the opposition, he has performed excellently in terms of empowerment and his primary function of lawmaking that you will think he is a lawmaker in the camp of the ruling party at the centre.
“We recall that our victory in the 2019 election started with Sen. Balogun. His victory against the late former governor Ajimobi was all we needed to get into Agodi Government House. His victory signalled the end of the APC administration.
“We are not saying anybody shouldn’t join the party, but Sen. Balogun deserves a return ticket. If not for anything, the Olubadan should be honoured by allowing his younger brother to go again. We are very lucky to have a senator who is a younger brother of the monarch. If Sen. Balogun is allowed to go for another term, he will automatically use what he has learnt in this first term, for the betterment of Oyo South and the state in general.”
Supporters of a strong contender for the ticket, Dr. Nureni Adeniran, are also said to be fuming over the decision. Adeniran, the chairman of the state Basic Education Board (SUBEB), is said to have gone far in his campaign for the ticket across the nine local governments, which cut across Ibadan and Ibarapa.
His supporters and other party leaders in the district are unhappy that the ticket is going to a new entrant, who is unknown to the PDP family in the state.
Although Governor Makinde did not make his decision public, The Nation learnt from many sources that handing the ticket to Tegbe was a done deal.
Contacted, the PDP state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Akeem Olatunji, denied that Makinde had taken the decision.
He said the people should wait for the primary that would determine who would emerge as the party’s candidate for the district.
Olatunji said: “It has been announced that there will be primary election. Whoever emerges victorious will be the party’s candidate. They will all be subjected to primary for delegates to decide. The party will decide who is well suited. The governor has not endorsed anybody.”
