A socio-political group in Oyo State, Integrity Group, has described a media report credited to a former Minister of Mines and Power, Elder Wole Oyelese, disparaging former governor Rashidi Ladoja as unfortunate and “outburst of a scavenging, paperweight and completely worthless politician.”
A statement from the group said if Oyelese had Ladoja’s impeccable pedigree in the politics of the state and the country, he would not go a-begging for a senatorial ticket from Seyi Makinde under the banner of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2015 election.
The statement was jointly signed by leaders of the group, a current lawmaker in the state House of Assembly, representing Ibadan South East I constituency, Honourable Fatai Adesina; Alhaji Kunle Busari; and Honourable Yinka Omikunle, who are all loyalists of Ladoja.
The group claimed that Oyelese got N120million from Makinde as SDP senatorial candidate for Oyo Central District in the 2015 election, but could only poll 7, 362 votes for the huge resources doled out to him.
“It is no surprise that Oyelese is supporting illegality by asking Senator Ladoja to endorse the harmonisation of PDP state executive that was duly put in place through a validly conducted congress.
“Ladoja’s option of dumping the PDP is no empty threat. He and the people of the state will not sanction the influencing of national officers of the party to take decision in favour of a tiny group, which out of desperation, is bent on lording its wish on the majority.
“For the avoidance of doubt, wherever Ladoja goes, that is where the people of the state will go in 2019, God-sparing our lives. Next year, it will be so glaring on whose side the masses are.
“To refresh Oyelese’s memory, Ladoja produced four House of Representatives and seven House of Assembly members in the state in the 2011 elections. In 2015, he produced eight House of Assembly members. How many councilors has Oyelese produced?
“In 2019, he will by God’s grace produce the next governor of the state, by working in concert with like-minds from across parties, people who believe in internal democracy and not in the power of money and what it can be used to destroy.
“We know there is no dirty job Oyelese can’t do for anyone, including someone he is old enough to father, as long as he is assured of a buttered daily bread. He is a man so notorious as a scavenger of discarded odds and ends.
“Another election season is here and we know he is desperately in need of filthy lucre to weight his lean purse. Perhaps, if he is done with his current assignment, he will be handed another senatorial ticket in SDP again with probably double the amount he got in 2015.
“We counsel Oyelese to salvage whatever is left of his faded political glory by contesting for councillorship election to test his popularity in Erunmu before hoping to represent a district that crisscrosses Ibadan, Oyo and Ogbomosho cities.
“If a man could work with the despicable regime of General Sani Abacha as Minister of Special Duties and Minister of Mines and Power, there is not person he can’t work for once the prospects of pecuniary benefits are high.
“When the story of those who sabotaged the June 12 struggle and truncated the mandate freely given by Nigerians to the late Chief MKO Abiola is told, an unenviable chapter will be devoted to Oyelese.
“In all the political offices he has ever held, how many people from Oyo State did he empower? Can history ever be kind to a man like Oyelese? What will posterity say about a man like this who stands for nothing but falls for anything, including crumbs from his master’s table,?” the statement asked rhetorically.
