Following the defeat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s Ibadan North Federal Constituency by-election, a party chieftain, Aiyekooto Akindele, has dropped a veiled comment on the state of the party in Oyo.
Though he did not mention the election directly, Akindele in a statement on Monday on his Facebook page warned that APC risks further losses if the lingering divisions within the fold remain unresolved.
He recalled how the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi was able to hold the progressives together in 2011 and 2015, using the opposition’s internal cracks to the party’s advantage. According to him, the same unity and discipline have been missing in recent years, which has weakened the APC in Oyo State.
“Ajimobi used the division in the opposition, especially Akala and Ladoja, to rescue us in 2011 and again in 2015. But in 2019, when our people turned against him during the senatorial election, they did not know they were digging a pit for themselves. That was how we lost Oyo in 2019,” he said.
The chieftain further stated that without broad reconciliation convened by the Presidency or a political understanding with Governor Seyi Makinde, APC would find it difficult to return to power in Oyo.
He, however, expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s popularity, stressing that the President’s hold on the state remains unshaken ahead of 2027.
