Intense Horse-Trading, Alignments, As Parties, Politicians, Strike ‘Last Minute’ Alliance Deals With APC, PDP

Few days’ time, governorship polls will hold in 29 States across the country. In Oyo State where the race is hotting up with intense horse trading among political parties and political big shots, alliances are being formed and politicians are returning to parties they left angrily after the primaries. In addition to that, opposition party coalitions are taking new shapes, blocs within parties are realigning, former friends are becoming enemies and former enemies have become friends.

The movements of the major players from one party to the other, or from one alliance to the other, have arguably made the election a two-horse race between two major contenders – Engr. Seyi Makinde of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Adebayo Adelabu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As at the time of writing this report, the following have happened:

• Governorship candidates of four major political parties – Senator Olufemi Lanlehin of the African Democratic Alliance (ADC), Barr. Sharafadeen Alli of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Barr. Bolaji Ayorinde of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – have dumped their ambitions to support either Makinde or Adelabu.
• Former members of the APC are making their way back to the party
• Members of some of the parties going into alliances are taking different paths from the ones taken by their governorship candidates
• The national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and former governor of Lagos has gotten himself deeply involved in efforts to reposition the APC in Oyo State.
• Two former governors of Oyo State are on different sides of the divide.
• More movements, more announcements are being expected.

Below is a table of where and how the major political players in the state stand on the sides of APC or PDP: