Politics
‘We rejected Makinde’s offer to avoid being corrupted’ – Oyo ALGON speaks
The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), in Oyo State has given reason why it rejected Governor Seyi Makinde’s pay-off offer, but rather stuck to what would be the outcome of the legal battle.
Governor Makinde had on Monday through his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa said he would comply with the judgement of the Supreme Court that ruled that the illegally sacked council gaffers be paid their salary and allowance for the duration of their tenure that they were sacked.
In the statement, the governor also said he was not surprised at the judgement lashed out at the victorious council bosses noting that he had since fifteen months ago offered them the same option of paying them off but that the embattled ALGON members had insisted on returning to office to complete their tenure.
Speaking on behalf of the sacked council chiefs, during a ‘Thank you visit’ to legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola SAN at his Agodi residence, in Ibadan, the Chairman of Oyo ALGON, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, said the association deliberately took the decision so as not to be part of the government’s corruption.
He noted that the concern of the chairmen was neither the money nor the office, as wrongly claimed by the governor, but the need to deepen democracy at the grassroot.
“How can you give me money for the work I didn’t do and I have not done. Governor Makinde wanted to pay us last year when we have not done the work. And it is not legal and at the end of the day, it is all about corruption
“If we had collected the money, we were encouraging corruption. And anybody can come up later in the year or in the nearest future to challenge us that we collected money for the work we had not done.
“But, now, any proclamation from the Supreme Court is law. This is law. A judgement has been given, the money is due to us and we can collect it now. When he (Makinde) wanted to pay us, the question was, why will he pay us? Why will he even sack us in the first instance when the court said it’s wrong? Why would you do that? If you had done that and you said you want to pay us, that in itself is corruption, so we will never be part of a thing.
“For us, if we had collected the money at the time, and when people see us, will they not say it was all about the money?
“But for us, it was not about the money or the office, it is about the rule of law and I am saying it, I personally don’t ever have interest in contesting any local government elections again in my life.
“But the whole idea is for us to show that we want democracy to be entrenched at the grassroot and that is what we have done. We have laid precedence and for generations to come, the sacrifice we have made will always be enjoyed by those who will occupy the office at the local government level”, the ALGON boss added.
Meanwhile, the council bosses from the 33 local government areas (LGAs) and 35 local council development areas (LCDA) were in attendance to express their appreciation to Chief Akintola who provided them legal services pro-bono up until the Supreme Court.
According to Aleshinloye, “we are here to thank Barrister Akintola SAN. Like we did yesterday, we were in Ilorin to say the same thing to Barrister Yusuf Alli SAN and we couldn’t have done anything better, because Barrister Akintola identify with us being a member of the party; a leader for that matter. It is on record that he did not collect any money from us. Well, whichever way you look at it , we have to appreciate him for doing that.
” Like I said, we were with Yusuf Alli yesterday, he stood firm, and at the Supreme court , he did very well. Likewise, Barrister Kunle Soboloju. He started this case, he won the case at the High Court and he handled several filings on behalf of ALGON, the young gentleman needs also to be appreciated. We will make sure that we visit him as well; same with Seun Abimbola”, he continued.
Remarking, the Oyo APC gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Akintola informed that he decided to offer free legal service to the embattled council bosses as parts of his contributions to the development and progress of the party.
Akintola, however charged the party faithful and leaders in attendance on the need to be united, attributing his commitment to the progressive fold and sacrificial services to some of the things learnt from the late Chief Bola Ige.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
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