The Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Taiwo Adisa, has alleged that the All Progressive Congress, APC, is planning to entice the governor to join the party in a bid to avoid a heavy defeat in the 2023 governorship election.
He said the quest to win Makinde over was informed by the APC’s realisation that they could not present a more worthy candidate that could challenge the governor at the poll.
Adisa who disclosed this in a statement on Monday added that the ploy to entice Makinde to the APC did not come as a surprise, as the party was impressed by Makindes laudable feats despite the existing challenges.
The statement partly read, “One is not surprised that some elements in the APC are busy debating the possibility of Governor Makinde’s defection to the party.
“The unprecedented achievements the governor has recorded in a very short time, especially despite the COVID-19 pandemic, has thoroughly beaten their imagination such that they have concluded it is impossible to raise a candidate to contest against him in 2023.
“As a close watcher of the GSM magic, so to say, one cannot be surprised that the APC in Oyo State is really envious of the great attainments of Governor Makinde.
“However, rather than claim that Makinde wants to defect to the APC, the truth the APC elements should tell the world is that their party is attempting to lure the performing governor in order to avert a woeful performance against him in 2023.
“Contrary to the claims of the APC members that the governor has been soft against criticisms by its members, Governor Makinde has not bothered to respond to their baseless criticisms in recent times but has chosen to remain focused on service delivery.
“We also completely reject the claims that his desire to join the APC informed the “soft approach” to the farmers/herders’ crisis.
“On the contrary, the governor has remained on the side of the law and has always insisted that criminals, whichever tribe they belong, are our enemies and they must be fished out without undue ethnic profiling.
“As a result, the best thing the APC could come up with right now is to imagine a Makinde as a standard-bearer so he could serve as a surreptitious redemption for the years of locust the party had inflicted on the people of Oyo State.”