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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State may lose another governorship aspirant, Mr Akeem Agbaje, a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, to another political party.
The indications emerged as one of the leading 2023 gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of APC, and the party’s governorship candidate for 2019 elections, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has also defected to Accord, following dissatisfaction with the party’s governorship primary held at Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, penultimate Friday.
Agbaje, who is one of the descendants of the popular Agbaje Salami of Ayeye, Ibadan, that started a free education as a private individual in 1950, before the Government of the Western Region of Nigeria, under the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, introduced free education policy in 1955, may move with his supporters into New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to actualise his ambition, ahead of the June 9, 2022, deadline given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to all political parties to conclude their primaries.
An impeccable source told journalists in Ibadan on Monday that Agbaje is not happy with the conduct of the last APC governorship primary in the state over alleged doctored delegates’ list, that eventually produced the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content, Teslim Folarin, as the party’s 2023 governorship candidate.
Apart from Agbaje and Adelabu, other 2023 APC governorship aspirants that have alleged that the delegates’ list was manipulated include a legal luminary, Chief Adeniyi Akintola(SAN); former Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Azeez Adeduntan; and a businessman, Mr Hakeem Alao.
Though Agbaje could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report, the source said further that he dropped the hint at a gathering at the weekend. He said all arrangements have been concluded for him to defect to the NNPP.
