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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has slammed two former governors of the state, Sen. Rashidi Ladoja and Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, saying they lack fresh ideas that could accelerate the pace at which the state is currently developing.
Consequently, the party said that the two former governors were not worthy of being trusted with the mandate of the people of the state again.
Both Ladoja and Alao-Akala are the governorship candidates of Accord and Labour Party (LP) respectively in the next month polls in which the duo and 10 others, including Sen. Teslim Folarin of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , are seeking to dislodge the incumbent governor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Monday by its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, the APC regretted the combined eight-year rule of both Ladoja and Alao-Akala, describing it as the darkest chapter in the history book of the Pacesetter State which the good people of the state would not pray to repeat itself.
“In an ideal situation, the duo cannot indicate interest to vie for any political office again, having failed the people when they had the opportunity to govern. Indeed, years 2003-2011 could be aptly described as years of locust during which the people of the state had the worst experience of political violence, abuse of power and official corruption in a civilian rule setting.
“The citizenry would never forget in a hurry how Sen. Ladoja engaged his erstwhile political godfather in a needless supremacy battle which cost them their cherished peace, economic resources and the precious lives of their beloved ones. Ibadan became a theatre of war because a governor dared to renege on a pact designed to favour his personal interest and that of the then dreaded Garrison Commander.
“On the other hand, Ladoja’s successor Alao-Akala, who got to power by default and could not convince anyone of having an understanding of what governance was all about, embarked on spending spree. He was popular for his recklessness, impunity and corrupt practices. In all of this, the masses became worse for it and the developmental drive of the state entered the reverse gear.
“Painful enough, the same characters still have the effrontery to parade themselves as the only ones who must rule Oyo State at all cost. And without a clear-cut manifesto, they have been moving round the state to rain insult on the citizenry, all in the name of political campaigns,’’ it said.
The party, therefore, urged the electorate to continue to tolerate them and their theatre of the absurd until February 28 when they would send the duo into permanent retirement with their overwhelming rejection at the polls..
Oyo APC Chairman