Leaders of Labour Party (LP) in Oyo State have dumped the party’s governorship candidate, Tawfiq Akinwale, and adopted Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
However, Mr Akinwale has said he has not stepped down for Mr Makinde despite the position of his party’s leaders.
The chairperson of LP in the state, Atayase Sadiq, made the announcement at a press briefing held at the party’s secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital, on Sunday.
Mr Sadiq said the decision was made after consultation with members of the party across the state’s 33 local government areas.
“The last presidential election was keenly contested by the three major parties in the country and the result of the election as announced by INEC shows that the Labour Party is a force to reckon with,” he said.
“The result of the presidential election in Oyo State is similar to that. While the result of the election in its entirety is still a subject of contention, the take home of the election is that a third force party that emerged barely a year ago has grown to become a strong force because of the quality of its candidate,” he added.
“Having considered this, in the upcoming election in our dear state, we have decided to support a candidate with the character, competence and capacity to lead and who is also concerned about the wellbeing of the citizens as it is obvious that no party can win the gubernatorial election alone,” he noted.
“However, the main priority should be that the citizens win through the emergence of a candidate that best serves their interest. Based on this, we have decided to work with the party whose candidate aligns with ours in terms of security, agricultural development and financial well-being. And it is obvious that the current administration of Seyi Makinde has done this,” the LP chairman stated.
The LP chairperson called on voters in the state to vote massively for the PDP governorship candidate.
“And we hereby call on all citizens of Oyo State to vote for him. This decision was taken with serious consideration for the party’s future in the state.”