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Former secretary to the Oyo State government,
Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, has alleged that the crisis within the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State is worse because of the
influence of some external forces.

Mr. Alli, who recently left the camp of Rasidi
Ladoja, his former boss, to join the ACN, said the party’s leadership
is still talking to all aggrieved members who were hurt by the
emergence of Abiola Ajimobi as the governorship candidate in the state.

“Really, there are external forces and pressures from
certain quarters instigating some of the governorship aspirants not to
drop the case against Ajimobi, but I can confirm to you that all that
appears to be changing now because some of them have seen reasons why
they should not destroy the party they all laboured hard to build to
this level,” he said.

He explained that the aggrieved members are now
seeing reasons why they could not afford to allow the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to continue to govern the state.

Mr. Alli was referring to the allegation that three
of the aggrieved governorship aspirants of the party, Messrs. Wale
Oyemakinde, Wole Akinboade (both retired professors), and Soji Akanbi,
who are in court to challenge the choice of Mr. Ajimobi, were being
sponsored by Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to put the party in disarray,
in order for him to realise his re-election ambition.

But the affected ACN members denied this yesterday,
insisting that the allegation was demeaning. Responding on behalf of
their group, Mr. Oyemakinde said he was no match with Alao-Akala and
could not have descended so low to the extent of conniving with him to
destroy ACN.

“How can I descend so low that I would be having a
meeting with Akala to destabilise my party? It is not possible. I have
been in politics many years ago. In terms of education, I am
well-educated and I have more experience than he. As for the hotel
where they said we met with him, I don’t even know the hotel,” Mr.
Oyemakinde said.

He claimed that they still belong to the ACN, vowing never to have anything to do with the PDP.

“We are different in so many ways. Our ideologies are not the same.
How then can I rubbish my enviable political record and my affinity
with progressives now?” He queried.