•Report by Kamil Opeyemi
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council in Oyo State has denied having a standing agreement with the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, as being speculated in some quarters.
A member of the committee in the state, Nike Ajagbe, who stated this in a chat with journalists in Ibadan, on Wednesday, said the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, was a party man, who cannot joke with the success of APC across the country, especially the South-West which he regarded as his stronghold.
Ajagbe was reacting to a news emanating from the meeting between the governor and the aggrieved candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Makinde was said to have told the aggrieved candidates, who lost last Saturday National Assembly election to APC, that he had agreement with the president-elect that he would defect to the APC after the election, which Tinubu supported.
Ajagbe explained that it was in the programme of the campaign committee to visit all the opposition governors whenever they are in their states for campaign, hence nobody should see it as endorsement but a privilege to host a widely accepted presidential candidate.
“It was in the programme of the campaign committee to visit all the opposition governors whenever they are in their respective states for campaign, so people should not see it as an agreement or they struck a deal. No standing agreement whatsoever between them.”
While citing Rivers State and others where Tinubu visited their Government Houses before proceeding on campaign grounds, Ajagbe said she was part of the visit of the president-elect to Makinde and no agreement was between the campaign team and Makinde.
“People are surprised to read that Governor Makinde was claiming he had an agreement with the president-elect when he was unable to disclose his support for the president-elect openly, especially when he remarked that people of the state should vote for unifier of the country during the governorship debate on Splash FM,” She stressed
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of APC in the state, Teslim Folarin has condemned Makinde for allegedly lavishing N500 million on the aggrieved PDP candidates and other stakeholders.
In a statement, the APC governorship candidate through his Media Aide, Yekeen Olaniyi, said Makinde had demonstrated that he has nothing to offer the good people of the state than spending lavishly to please his party men.
He urged the people to vote massively for APC in the March 11 governorship election and state assembly’s election, so as to maintain the same party both at the Federal and State levels.