Nigeria Content Online

It was a bad day
for the Labour Party in Oyo State on Thursday, as its candidate for the
office of deputy governor in the next election, Samuel Adejumobi,
dumped the party for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Mr Adejumobi is
the majority leader of the Oyo State House of Assembly and was elected
to the house on the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

He led a group of
ten members of the legislative arm last year to seek the removal of
Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, over alleged misappropriation of the
state’s funds. The attempt led to violence in the house, in which some
members of his group were wounded and were all later suspended.

Despite a court
order directing that they are re-absorbed and the arrears of their
entitlement paid them, the lawmakers are still being barred from
discharging their duties and the money is still not paid.

He, however hinged
his decision to join the ACN on the party’s showing in the last
parliamentary elections and consultation with “family, friends, opinion
leaders, students, market women and many other stakeholders”.

Stepping down

Mr Adejumobi
defected to the party along with six other colleagues at the state
assembly who were denied payment of their entitlements. These include
Kazeem Ayilara (deputy speaker), Mohammed Inakoju (chairman, house
parliamentary caucus), Michael Okunlade, Abiola Ayorinde, Tijani
Ademola Razak and Kayode Anumashaun.

Mr Ayilara, who is
contesting the seat in the Ibadan South West/Ibadan North West
constituency on the platform of Labour Party, has also offered to dump
his ambition and join the ACN.

Mr Adejumobi said
all other colleagues seeking to return to the state legislature on any
other platform other than the ACN, will step down for the contestants
in their new party. He said the state needed a new leader who will save
it from the backwardness the incumbent governor is leading it to.

“The results show that the ACN has the highest number of votes at
332,027 votes and careful analysis of the results show that the party
also has the widest spread in all the geo-political zones of Oyo
State,” he said while positing that Abiola Ajimobi, the ACN
governorship candidate, is better positioned to lead the state.