Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is fighting the biggest political battle of his life.
His re-election bid is serious being threatened by a number of reasons, many of which people believe his due to his actions.
Recall that Makinde recorded mega victory at the 2019 election with the help of various political collations.
Prior to the 2019 election, the opposition party, APC was enmeshed in crisis which forced some of the bigwigs in the party then to leave the party because they were not dully recognized and their efforts not appreciated.
Makinde benefited from the crisis in the APC and was brought into office by a coalition of reputable politicians who worked together for his victory at the polls.
After they fell out with former Governor Abiola Ajimobi before the 2019 poll, some political bigwigs in the state adopted Makinde as the consensus candidate of a coalition of four opposition parties under the PDP ticket.
The coalition that backed Makinde in 2019 included: the Governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Olufemi Lanlehin; the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Sharafadeen Alli, and that of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bolaji Ayorinde.
Other prominent figures in the coalition behind Makinde included: a former Governor of the State, Rashidi Ladoja, and a former Oyo Central Senator, Monsurat Sunmonu.
The Ladoja group was the biggest group that worked for Makinde’s victory. The group was headed by Sarafa Alli, now a Senator-elect.
Other people who stayed back in APC, but refused to work for …..backed Makinde at the polls.
But, as the Saturday, March 11 approaches, Makinde seemed to have lost the support of all the collations that brought him into power.
The coalition has disintegrated after Makinde’s election as the members fought over the spoils of victory.
Members of the coalition accused the Governor of failing to honour the agreement reached before the poll.
First to dump the coalition was Lanlehin, followed by the candidate of the ZLP and that of the SDP.
The only PDP Senator in the State, Kola Balogun, who represents Oyo South District, also left the party after losing the return ticket to the senate.
Other bigwigs like former House of Representatives Leader, Mulikat Adeola, and an Ibadan political chieftain, Adebisi Olopoeyan, have also dumped the ruling party and have vowed to ensure Makinde’s fail at the poll.
Also, the Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan, who has now been impeached on the grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and financial recklessness, among others, has defected to the APC.
Some other aggrieved members of the PDP in September 2021 had earlier vowed to work against Makinde’s re-election bid.
They also accused the Governor of sidelining them to shower his favour on “outsiders,” who did not contribute anything to his victory at the polls in 2019.
They accused Makinde of betraying their trust and vowed to work against his re-election.
Working against the Presidential candidate of his party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar remains Makinde’s biggest political mistake.
