IBADAN – The Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who also doubles as the Minister for Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has commenced consultations with various stakeholders and party leaders in Oyo state ahead 2027 general elections, just as he reaffirmed his readiness to run for the governorship election in state under the platform of All Progressive Congress(APC).
Chief Adebayo Adelabu also debunked insinuation that he will be impose on APC as sole candidate for the party by President Bola Tinubu come 2027.
Speaking with journalists in his Iyaganku residence over the weekend shortly after meeting with the leaders of the APC in Ibadan South East Local Government, Adelabu maintained that he is ready to for healthy competition that will provide the party’s flag bearer come 2027.
He stated further that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no interest in imposing any candidate on anybody in Oyo state APC come 2027.
Adelabu said, “APC in the state will conduct primary elections when the time comes, this will provide the best candidate without any imposition from nobody. I wonder how a President overseeing 36 states with Federal Capital Territory will be interested in imposing someone as a governor of a state.
“I believed in competition because whatever that is good is not meant for only one person, this will surely brings out the best in from the party.
“I’m ready to engage in healthy competition that will not lead to hatred and bad blood so that at the end of the day, after the primary elections when winner would have emerge, there will be good platform for reconciliation and other aspirants that lost will not lose everything but there will be ways of compensating everybody with nominations and appointments and no one will go home without having anything.
“President Tinubu is a true democrat, and the best advise he gave me is to go back to my state to work and win people to my side which I have stated, and it will be obvious to everybody that whoever eventually got the governorship ticket actually worked for it and I have started the work now.
“President Tinubu sis someone that believes in the voice of the people and the followership. So as far as am concerned nobody can do any top down validation or top down imposition of an aspirant as the candidate of the party, that will be the beginning of failure. People want to see that any aspirant that emerge as candidate of the party is voluntarily elected, and that is what I’m preaching, nobody will impose anybody.
“There wasn’t any imposition in 2019 when I emerged as candidate of the party, I emerged in a keenly contested primarily. I did the most work because my campaign was the most flamboyant and energized one then.
“In 2019 elections, we went to all the 33 local governments of the state, we engaged everybody, and at the end of the day, we almost have a consensus, some aspirants stepped down for me, those who didn’t stepped down, after discovering at the mid of the primary that the voting was going in my direction came out and stepped down for me, that was how I won, I won overwhelmingly with almost 100 percent votes of members of the party. Am used to that, I know what it takes to win primary election in a progressive party, you must work, tell people your plans, programmes, your mandates and manifestos, they must see that you have something in stock to move this state forward, not just for the state alone but also members of the party.
“I know it’s not going to be an easy task, but with my experience in the last two elections, I’m more than up to the task at hand.” Adelabu said.
While speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Adelabu noted that the meeting marked the beginning of his consultation with the party leaders in line with his 2027 gubernatorial ambition, stressing that he needed to informed the party leaders from his local government of his ambition and to also seek their support.
He said, “Today’s meeting is a consultation meeting with all the local government executives, ward chairmen and leaders of our party in Ibadan South East Local government just to inform them about my ambition to run for governorship position in the next general elections.
“This is my local government and this where my family come from, so, I needed to carry them along and let them know that our aspiration is being renewed. The meeting was like a family gathering, we reviewed our journey so far from 2019 to 2023. I’m glad that the aspiration received 100 percent endorsement of all the stakeholders, they promised their supports and also pledged to do everything possible to ensure that governorship position come back to Ibadan South East Local government by 2027.
“I thanked them for the support and endorsement and to have identified themselves with my aspiration, we are not a new comer in this game, we tried it in 2019, we missed out narrowly, we tried it in 2023 with a minor party, we saw the outcome, 2027 is going to be bigger and more serious and receive mass endorsement across the state and the journey has began.From next week, I will begin consultation tour properly to all the leaders in the seven geopolitical zones we have in the state.” Adelabu stressed.
In his remark, the Oyo South Senatorial chairman of APC, Alhaji Mojeed Olaoya said members of the party will stand by whoever emerged as the gubernatorial candidate of the party come 2027.
He said there will be total and genuine reconcilation in the party, saying the party has learnt from 2019 and 2023 elections when the party lost to the opposition due to division within the party.