Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Oyo State, has said the coalition of a former chieftain of the party, Chief Michael Koleoso and former governor of the state, Rashidi Ladoja, to lead African Democratic Congress (ADC) to electoral victory in the state would fail.

Koleoso was the Secretary to the State Government when Alhaji Lam Adesina was the governor between 1999 to 2003, on the platform of Alliance for Democracy.

But their administration was ousted in 2003 when Ladoja defeated Adesina on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Dr. Azeez Olatunde, in a statement he issued, in Ibadan, on Sunday, described the coming together of the Koleosho and Ladoja as a ‘sudden pact’ and ‘an unholy alliance between strange bedfellows which no right-thinking progressive should take seriously.’

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The party further described Koleosho, who was a member of APC before his recent defection to ADC,  as a ‘core progressive’ and Ladoja, who also dumped PDP for ADC last week, as ‘a conservative’,  which could probably made it difficult for the duo to actually work together in ADC.

The APC said the union of the two notable politicians with some others reminded the party of an alleged submission by the late Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-president of Nigeria, could never be a good friend to any progressive.

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The statement read, “The current union in a party led by the former president can not produce any good fruits because Obasanjo and Ladoja’s character is well known to politicians and Nigerians in general.

“Koleoso, who is a true progressive will soon find out that he does not have a place in the new house he is joining them to build because of their different world views and approaches to politics and governance. The APC is watching the direction of the alliance. It is clear that it will head for the rocks.

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“The alliance is no cause for alarm because the APC stands firm in Oyo State and all across Nigeria. The people of Oyo State can see how the Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration has transformed the state in the last seven years through the right policies that have made Oyo a top destination for investors.

“Security of lives and property, massive infrastructural development, education reform and urban renewal are among the policies that have redefined Oyo State in the last seven years under the APC.

“When the 2019 election comes, the good people of Oyo State will choose sustenance of these dividends of democracy rather than fall for the deceit of an unholy alliance that is self-serving.

“As a party, we are watching the direction of this sudden alliance which will likely go the way of Chief Awolowo’s prediction that any alliance of progressives with the conservative will surely leave a sour taste in the mouth.”