Akala to supporters: join me in APC

A former governor of Oyo State Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala has called on his supporters across the state to join him in his voyage to a new party, which he refrained from mentioning officially.

But The Nation can authoritatively confirm the new party is the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement by the Director General, Akala Campaign Organization, Chief Wale Ohu, the former governor, who was the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the March 9 election, said going by the results of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly election, not much can be achieved in isolation.

The Nation had earlier reported his return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as confirmed by a highly placed member of the party.

It was learnt that Akala refrained from announcing his formal return to the APC on Friday so as not to hurt the sensibility of ADP House of Assembly candidates who were still campaigning.

The leadership of the party was still holding consultations with the candidates as at press time.

This came as the former governor shunned the ongoing alliance meeting of opposition parties in the state on Friday.

While governorship candidates of other parties attended the meeting at Sen. Rashidi Ladoja’s Bodija, Ibadan home, Akala, who was the brain behind the alliance, was absent.

The Nation gathered that in a meeting with the ADP candidates on Thursday, the majority of them signaled intention to go on with their election under ADP, stressing that it was too late for them to back out from the race.

Akala’s statement read: “After a careful consideration of the results of the last Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives elections and in furtherance of the development, progress and peace of Oyo State, far-reaching decisions have to be taken and actualized.

“The ADP, after holding series of high-level consultations across Oyo State after the last general elections, has come to the conclusion that the sanctity, integrity and progress of Oyo State cannot and must not be compromised.

“We have felt the pulse of the people whose support has brought us this far: it is important that we dance when they play the tunes.

“We have given deep thoughts to the future of this state and have realized that not much can be realized in Isolation, hence the need to team up with the party that puts the interest of the masses on top of its priority list.

“Looking at the results of the last elections, we have realized the need to restrategise and ensure that Oyo State is not left out in the cold.

“To this effect, the Oyo state ADP and the Akala  Campaign Organisation hereby call on all our members, teeming supporters and well-wishers across the state to come on board in this move towards positioning our state for better national interest.”