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The Labour Party is the most stable political party in Oyo State today, the party chairman, Mr. Gbenga Olayemi, said on Friday.
He spoke on Community Today, a CEOAfrica online TV programme.
His words: “If you look at all the parties in the state today, you’ll find out that the Labour Party is the most stable party. About the only party without crisis. There are other opposition parties like the Accord Party but you know it is without crisis. They are just trying to resolve their crisis.
What about the All Progressives Congress(APC)?
“The APC is no longer a formidable party. The party is dying” Olayemi stated.
He added: “There is a lot we need to learn from how the APC was formed. It was a merger between ACN, CPC, ANPP and part of APGA, all in a bid to defeat PDP then. Happenings today show that it is a party of strange bedfellows. Look at what is happeneing in the legislature and executive. The two arms of government are dominated by APC but there is no agreement. The executivd says this, and the legislature says something else.
Danger of political mergers
Given the “bitter lessons” learnt from the merger that created APC, Olayemi was asked if his party would not consider a merger for the sake of victory in subsequent elections. And he replied: “Merger should not be about winning at all cost. That was the mistake the APC made.
“When you are considering a merger, you must look at thise you are going to be working with. The Labour Party’s idea of a merger is that it should be first in the interest of the people to be governed and then in the interest of the party.
“So, we are not totally against merger or partnerships to win elections but it should not be to the detriment of the people. And let me point out thathe Labour Party can not be subsumed. We are a very solid and stable party.
Who is who in Labour Party?
According to Olayemi, politics and governance is not about big names. He stated that most of the big names in the politics today, no longer have electoral value.
He said: “There is need to involve younger ones and fresher ideas. That is the focus of the Labour Party now.
“And we have them. We have the voice. In the House of Assembly now, we have six members who are all formidable politicians and still solidly with the party. So, it is not about big names, it is about programmes and quality of candidates
“Look at what happened August last year. The labour party, candidate, Hon. Lukman Balogun, won the Oyo state House of Assembly bye election for Oorelope Local Government. The state governor led the APC campaign, and I led the Labour party campaign. We defeated them. That is to show that if an election is conducted, the APC would lose even to our candidates.
Ajimobi’s six years in office
Asked to assess the administration in the state in the last six years, Olayemi said: “There is nothing to assess. What is on ground to assess? We make the mistake of judging governments by construction of roads but I tell you, governanxe is more creative than that. Besides, in tbis country, we know what is behind the construction of roads. What has government done in Agriculture? What has been done in Education apart from the back and forth policies?