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Tag: Ladoja

  • Ladoja, Alao-Akala can’t remove Ajimobi, says ACN

    Ladoja, Alao-Akala can’t remove Ajimobi, says ACN

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State has said former Governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala cannot remove the ACN-led administration.

    It likened the coming together of the duo to the “gang-up of a sparrow and crocodile”.

    ACN was reacting to a media report that the former governors had set up a 10-man committee towards harmonising their 2015 governorship ambition.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, ACN said: “We wish the duo well in their gang-up to upstage our government, but we assure them that they will soon find out that our people have since left the realm of bitter politics.

    “The politics we play in Oyo State now is that of interrogating whoever wants to ask for the people’s votes. What this means is that our people would ask them questions. It is no longer politics of thug for thug or violence for violence.

    “Their coming together can be likened to that of a sparrow and a crocodile. It will end up in disaster. During the battle between Ladoja and his former deputy, who unseated him, our state was labeled a theatre of war. If you left your home for office in the morning, you were not sure you would come back in one piece in the evening.

    “It went so bad that our House of Assembly, that same hallowed parliamentary chambers where the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo sat to address parliament and incubate those world-class policies, became a theatre of war where a driver sat on the Speaker’s chair to hit the gavel on the table.

    “This is one of the questions our people would ask them: Do you want to return us to Golgotha, the place of blood? Our people will ask Ladoja and Akala pertinent questions.

    “They will demand to know why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting them for allegedly stealing public funds.

    “They will ask them to list their achievements in office and compare them with those of Ajimobi in two years. More fundamentally, they will demand whether this coming together is in the people’s interest or to score some ego points.”

  • 2015: ‘Ladoja is hallucinating’

    2015: ‘Ladoja is hallucinating’

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State has said it is not surprised by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja’s “decision” to contest the 2015 governorship election.

    A media report yesterday indicated that Ladoja was warming up for the 2015 governorship race.

    In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, ACN said it knew Ladoja’s verbal attacks on the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration were to pave the way for the realisation of his ambition.

    It said: “Any discerning mind would know that Ladoja’s surreptitious moves to pull down the Ajimobi administration through frequent attacks and propaganda are to clear the path for his governorship ambition, which will continue to be a dream.”

    ACN said the development will give the people an opportunity to ask Ladoja what he achieved when he was governor.

    It said: “The people will also have ample opportunity to ask Ladoja to present his health dossier, why he left the state under-developed and why nothing worked during his administration.

    “Ladoja should also be prepared to answer questions on why his administration was characterised by violence and brigandage. Ladoja will be 70 years in 2015. What did he forget at the Agodi Government House that he wants to go and take at the age of 70?

    “Ladoja is indeed confused. At one breath, he said his lifetime ambition was to become the Olubadan of Ibadan. At another breath, he is dreaming of returning as governor. He is suffering from the illusion of grandeur.”

    Wishing Ladoja well in his aspiration, ACN said given Ajimobi’s achievements in two years, the 2015 election would be a walk-over for him.

     

  • Ex-Oyo deputy governor to Ladoja: leave Adedibu alone

    Ex-Oyo deputy governor to Ladoja: leave Adedibu alone

    FORMER Oyo State Deputy Governor Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi has advised former Governor Rashidi Ladoja to sort out his problem with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) without dragging in the name of the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.

    Gbolarumi, in a statement in Ibadan, yesterday berated Ladoja for making a “derogatory” remark about the late Adedibu while condemning the disruption of a rally organised by the Accord by thugs at Olomi, in Ibadan.

    The former deputy governor said: ”It is unfortunate that Ladoja could be quoted as saying that Oyo State should not descend into Adedibu’s era, when political thugs held the state by the jugular.

    “How can Ladoja make such an uncharitable remark about the late Adedibu, who was his political godfather and mentor? Ladoja should not be an ingrate.

    “Who made him politically? Was it not the same Baba Adedibu? It was through the grace of Allah and the political machinery of Baba Adedibu that Ladoja first became a senator on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and later governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “Ladoja should remain grateful to Baba Adedibu instead of passing this kind of unsavoury remarks about the man that made him politically.

    “Let Ladoja go and sort out his problems with ACN and Governor Ajimobi. He should not drag Baba Adedibu’s name into it. Ladoja should also not forget that in our tradition and culture, and even in other climes, you don’t talk ill of the dead. What Ladoja is doing now amounts to biting the hands that fed him.”

    Describing Ladoja as a key member of the late Adedibu’s group when the going was good, Gbolarumi said: “Ladoja was not only a good political son of Baba Adedibu, he was one of Baba’s right hand men but if he is now describing Baba Adedibu as a thug after being in his political camp for several years, then that means Ladoja himself is a thug. Politicians should learn to play politics without bitterness.

    “It is obvious from Ladoja’s remarks that he is a bitter man. But I will like to remind him that Baba Adedibu was one of the political leaders who fought for the enthronement of democracy in this country.

    “He would be remembered for the valiant roles he played in the country’s return to civil rule in 1999.”

    He advised the ACN and Accord not to turn Oyo State into a war zone, adding that political leaders must eschew intolerance and play politics according to the rules.

  • Ladoja eulogises Alalade

    A  Leader of the Accord in Oyo State former Governor Rashidi Ladoja has extolled the virtues of his running mate in the 2011 governorship election, the late Mr. Sunday Alalade.

    Alalade died on Thursday in his Ogbomoso home after a long illness.

    A source said the late Alalade rejected Ladoja’s offer to fly him abroad for treatment.

    The late Alalade was one of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala’s top opposition in Ogbomoso.

    Ladoja described the deceased as “a loyal friend and political associate”.

    The former governor, who led Accord leaders to the late Alalade’s home at the weekend, said the deceased believed in serving the people.

    He said: “During our days in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I nominated the late Alalade and four others to one of the reconciliation committees set up by the party.

    “Of the five nominees, he was the only one that came to the Accord with me. This means he believed in what I believe in, which is service to the people.

    “It took courage for any politician to refuse to join Alao-Akala at the time, particularly because they were both in the PDP. His loyalty to me was a mark of integrity and character. The Accord will miss his political sagacity. The late Alalade contributed immensely to the state’s growth as a council chairman, commissioner and chairman of the Local Government Service Commission.”

     

  • Ladoja and Oyo marriage of convenience

    Ladoja and Oyo marriage of convenience

    It is true that the history of political alliances in the country had never been pleasant to human memory. But while that is true, however, what is even truer is that never in the history of political alliances in the country had the spirit of such coalition been betrayed or abused in anyway near the contempt and disdain to which Rasidi Ladoja had subjected the recent or current working relationship between his Accord Party and Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    I deliberately avoid the dragging of the ACN into the deal because it was a personal risk taken by Abiola Ajimobi.

    On the part of the ACN leadership, although it was circumspect enough about the unreliability and unpredictability of the so-called ally, going by his political antecedent, it was, however, magnanimous enough to have conceded some level of executive discretion to the governor on the administration of his government. It was in the exercise of that discretion that Ajimobi entered into that deal with Ladoja. So the question of him disobeying his party on the accord does not arise.

    In the case of the NPC/NCNC alliance of 1959, which was the first in the country, the two parties remained faithful until the alliance was voluntarily collapsed by the two parties on the approach of another general election in 1964. The collapse of that alliance, caused by the new radical leadership of the NCNC under Michael Okpara, who felt more at home and comfortable with the progressive forces in the country, especially the Action Group against the conservative nature of the NPC, the senior partner of the alliance. Even at that level of the political ineptitude of the NPC, Okpara never spoke openly against the seeming pedestrian style of Balewa until his party formally pulled out of the alliance.

    Coming nearer home, in the case of the UPP/NCNC marriage of convenience in the old western region between Akintola and Fani Kayode, individual members of the alliance like Adeoye Adisa, who was not comfortable with the merger plan, who was Minister for Information, pulled out of the government before the coalition metamorphosed into NNDP.

    I have read in some social media, some feeble defence based on Ladoja’s right of expression in spite of his rapport with Ajimobi. But where such postulates missed the point is that the rapport is not personal affairs between ‘two brothers’. Rather, the product which both agreed to sell on coming together is the government. It is on this basis that Ladoja nominated his men, which included his younger brother into that government. By virtue of the position, some of them as Commissioners and Special Advisers are in the highest decision making organ of government, which is the State Executive Council, which by both convention and statute is guided by top secrecy in its deliberations.

    Given the importance of that organ in governance, it is not supposed to be or even safe to be peopled by anybody of suspected loyalty. In view of the prevailing scenario, anybody keeping supporters of Ladoja in that sensitive body should submit his brain for psychiatric examination.

    Still on Ladoja, if he is now criticising the government because Ajimobi is derailing in governance, does he want his people to be consumed by the ‘impending’ doom. It is unethical of him to adopt an ‘eat and have cake’ strategy. The path of honour for him is to first ‘rescue’ his men by pulling them out of the ship ahead of the doom of his imagination and dream.

    That he did not do that can only be attributed to the fact that he knows within himself that the government is popular among the people; and will want his team to benefit from the gain of that popularity. The truth, however, is that to Ladoja, the 2015 campaign had begun in earnest. The main obstacle he sees on his way, rightly speaking, is Ajimobi and the ACN. Hence he cannot see anything good in the government of that party and especially the governor. As an astute politician and former governor himself, he should not have waited until the avoidable disgrace to which he and his party were subjected.

    With the exit of the fifth columnist in his government, what is left for Ajimobi is to remain focussed and consolidate on the success so far. The only way to do that is to put his house in order by ensuring that the ACN under his leadership remain well organised and united. He should remain purposeful and unshaking in his current will to move the state forward.

     

    • Sanni wrote in from Ibadan

  • Ajimobi, Ladoja: Old friends, now foes

    Ajimobi, Ladoja: Old friends, now foes

    The crisis between Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the Accord Party (AP) leader, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has deepened, following the sack of the latters’ followers from the State Executive Council. BISI OLADELE traces the genesis of the frosty relationship and its implications for the next general elections.

     

    There is no permanent friend or enemy in politics.

    Political alliances emerge and collapse as the situation dictates. Ego war, flexing of muscles and mudsliging often shape political relations among waring politicians. In a minute, they collaborate. In another twinkle of an eye, they quarrel and part ways.

    In Oyo State, many saw the acrimony between Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Senator Rashidi Ladoja coming. The two of them are cousins. They belong to different parties. But necessity made a pact between the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), led by Ajimobi, and Ladoja’s Accord Party (AP) more compelling in 2011, when they were threatened by a common foe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    For almost two years, it has been an a turbulent marriage. Last week, the accord finally collapsed. The sack of Ladoja’s followers in the Ajimobi Administration was the last straw that broke the carmel’s back. The move has also altered the political calculations in the state, ahead of the 2015 polls.

    In a letter written by Ajimobi to Ladoja, he said he felt “constrained to take this painful, but inevitable decision”, in view of their personal relationship.Two commissioners, two special advisers, some chairmen and members of boards of parastatals and agencies, caretaker chairmen of a local government and others who were nominees of the former governor lost their jobs in the Ajimobi government.

    Observers contend that, mutual trust, the platform upon which they built their alliance in June 2011, had broken down. Ladoja has been critical of the administratin in recent times. Also, the AP has been firing salvos at the ACN. The agreement between the duo has come under serious strains. Some people have observed that the AP’s participation in the ACN administration has exposed the governor as a political neophyte. However, the sack also generated more heat.

    Ladoja and his party have not spared Ajomobi, particularly on his urban renewal project aimed at giving Ibadan, the state capital, a lift. He has chided the governor for the demolition of illegal structures, stressing that a government that means well for the people should not destroy their means of livelihood by not providing an alternative before the demolition.

    Ajomobi had exoplained that he embarked on the city project to return Ibadan to its original urban plan and prepare for future rains. In the metropolis, many buildings are erected on water channels and refuse often pose environmental challenges to the residential areas. Therefore, the governor issued a quit notice to many traders whose shops either obstruct water flow or disturb the urban planning. The government also had to relocate many street traders to new locations where neighbourhood markets are being constructed with modern facilities.

    But Ladoja and his party disagreed with the policy, saying that it inflicts pains on the traders who had their shops demolished without an alternative market. They rejected the neighbourhood market, arguing that they should have been provided before the demolition took place.

    Government officials have said that the urban renewal project was non-negotiable, stressing that it would make the city to attract investors. But the former governor maintained that that fruit sellers are found at train stations and other public places in the United Kingdom, wondering why Ajimobi was bent on turning Ibadan to a truly urban centre. He pointed out that Ibadan cannot be turned to London in a day.

    Frowning at these criticisms, Ajimobi said that Ladoja was distracting him. He deliberately doubled his effort on the urban renewal agenda with impressive gusto.

    But is the urban renewal project the main bone of contention between the governor and former governor? Sources disclosed that the preparations for the 2015 elections have pitched the two politicians against one another.

    Analysts point out that the alliance had broken down much earlier, but that the criticisms and propaganda by Ladoja and AP have only confirmed the parting of ways.

    By this development, the battle line is clearly drawn between the ACN and AP. It is expected that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may see the new crack as an opportunity to sharpen its teeth to bite in 2015.

    The PDP governorship aspirants; Jumoke Akinjide, Teslim Folarin, Seyi Makinde and Soji Adejumo; may renew their hope of regaining many party supporters that have joined either of the two parties. Thus, the 2015 election may still go in the way of the 2011 where the three parties had a good showing, but in which the most popular party produced the governor.

    At a critical hour of need, AP had come to the aid of the ACN. The collaboration produced the numerical strength that reduced PDP to a minority party in the House of Assembly. With the breakdown of the accord, can ACN Administration survive in the state?

    According to analysts, Ajimobi Administration now needs a united ACN to survive and forge ahead. The administrtion has recorded some landmark achievements. These include the peace and tranquility that have replaced criminality, the road and bridge construction, beautification and environmental sanitation, unparalleled welfare package for the civil servants, rebuilding of education through infrastructural facilities, training and retraining of teachers, free transport for state government workers, provision of loans, provision of hospitals and free health. These may make it difficult for another party dislodge the ACN from power in the next election.

    The result of the last election showed thatLadoja was more popular in some local governments in Ibadan. He also commanded a large following among the civil servants. But the loyalty of the civil servants may be divided by the memory of how the former governor paid their salaries promptly when he was in the saddle from 2003 to 2007.

    Many Ibadan indigenes have applauded the beautification of Ibadan and the restoration of sanity to the intra-city roads. Thus, Ajimobi’s support base is expanding among the ordinary people who are the fans of Ladoja.

    However, Ladoja has started mobilisation for the 2015 electoral contest. On daily basis, many peoople are defecting to the AP from the PDP.

    Ajimobi is not relenting too. He is mobilising by working for the people. In Oyo State, what will determine the fate of the governorship candidates is their track record of performance.

    Since he was endorsed for a second term by his party, he has been firing salvos at the opposition. A witty Ajimobi had jokingly told Akinjide at a social function last month there will be no vacancy in the State House. “My dear sister, if I am four years older than you, it means you can succeed me after my first four years. But if I am eight years older than you, it means you will wait till I spend eight years”, he said.

    The governor cracked the joke to achieve two purposes. He used it to douse the tension between his supporters and Akinjide’s. The governor told his supporters to stop whatever could bring back the politics of brickbats. He also used it to wittingly tell Akinjide that the ACN would not allow another party to defeat it in the 2015 election.

    If AP and PDP resolve to come together to battle the ACN, there may be tension in the state. But Ladoja appears to have ignoring that option, owing to the inability of the PDP leaders to assure him that they would not betray him again.

    Ladoja is now perceived as a veteran governorship candidate. There are forces in his party urging him to allow the younger elementss to fly the party ticket. His fear is that the masses may turn their eyes from the AP, if he abdicates. But, if he runs again in 2015, how far can he go?

  • Ladoja: Alao-Akala has apologised to me

    Ladoja: Alao-Akala has apologised to me

    •Ex-governor advocates e-voting in 2015 

    Former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja has said his deputy and successor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, has apologised to him for his “misdeeds”.

    He spoke during an exclusive interview with The Nation.

    Alao-Akala, who was his deputy from 2003 to 2007, succeeded him in 2006 after Ladoja was illegally impeached. Alao-Akala was elected governor in 2007.

    The impeachment pitched the two politicians against each other. They contested the 2011 governorship election on different platforms and lost.

    Ladoja told The Nation that Alao-Akala apologised to him and he has forgiven him.

    He said: “My relationship with Alao-Akala is very good. He is my younger brother. My life in politics does not have anything to do with my personal relationship with other people. I can be your friend and we will not be in the same party.

    “I have forgotten about what Alao-Akala did to me because that is gone for good. He has asked for forgiveness and I have forgiven him. If I do not forgive easily, would I have allowed former President Olusegun Obasanjo to come to my house?

    “It is unfortunate that Baba Lamidi Adedibu did not ask for my forgiveness before he died. All the same, everybody that participated in my impeachment, including my brother, Bolaji Ayorinde, has been forgiven. Ayorinde was in my house some days ago. He has been forgiven.”

    Ladoja said though he is no longer a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he enjoys a cordial relationship with Alao-Akala and members of other parties.

    He said a true leader forgives easily because one’s worst enemy today may become one’s best friend tomorrow.

    The Accord leader denied having any disagreement with Ibadan elders, saying: “I have no problem with the elders. I have a good relationship with them.”

    At a political summit in Ibadan yesterday, Ladoja advocated one-day e-voting for the 2015 general elections.

    He hailed the Prof. Attahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the “good organisation” of the 2011 poll and stressed that Nigeria is ripe for e-voting.

    Ladoja suggested that all the elections should be conducted in one day via e-voting, noting that since INEC can conduct election for two positions in one day, it would not be difficult to conduct it for five positions.

    He said it would be cost-effective and ensure easy collation of election results.

    Ladoja said colours should be used to differentiate the elective positions and advocated the enlightenment of the electorate.

  • Lawmakers slam Ladoja for comments

    Lawmakers slam Ladoja for comments

    Members of the Oyo State House of Assembly have criticised former Governor Rashidi Ladoja for his comments on the urban renewal programme of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

    In a national newspaper, Ladoja said the programme lacked a human face.

    At plenary yesterday, Mr. Yisau Adesope (Orelope) and Mr. Adesina Adeyemo described Ladoja’s statement as “ridiculous” and “inciteful”.

    Adesope said the Accord leader cannot compare the present administration with his because Ajimobi is not demolishing markets but illegal structures.

    He said: “The traders are trading in illegal places and the government has provided alternative trading areas for them. The governor should be praised by the opposition and not condemned. Ladoja should be a partner in progress and should not be seen as playing dirty politics.

    “I am surprised that Ladoja could make such an unguarded statement because he has close to three commissioners in this administration. He cannot be benefiting from us and condemning our government. It will be better for him to keep mute and be a partner in progress or withdraw his men from this administration.”

    Adeyemo said the demolition was not to witch-hunt anybody but to remove structures obstructing the water ways.

     

  • ACN, group accuse Ladoja of playing dirty politics

    ACN, group accuse Ladoja of playing dirty politics

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State yesterday said the inaction of some former governors gave Oyo the image of the dirtiest state in Nigeria.

    It accused former Governor Rashidi Ladoja of playing “dirty politics” with the urban renewal programme of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

    Ladoja had accused the government of insensitivity in the demolition of shops, adding that it should have provided alternative markets before the demolition.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, ACN condemned Ladoja’s criticism.

    It said: “The example of the Bola Ige administration given by Ladoja was self-serving and inappropriate because the late Cicero relocated an entire market to Gbagi.

    “What the Ajimobi admiinistration is combating is street trading and erection of shops by the roadside, which have had grievous effects on our people. Often times, vehicles veer off and kill them. The shops are often built on drains and canals and these lead to flood.

    “If Ladoja is comfortable with our people trading under the Molete Bridge with its attendant dangers to their lives, we are not. Ajimobi moved them to the Scout Camp where about 2,000 decent markets are available for them. Those trading by the roadside in Challenge, Oke Ado, Bode and Idi Arere also benefited from the Scout Camp market.

    “Ajimobo has provided an auto mart at NITEL in Molete for those selling cars indiscriminately at Oke Ado. For those displaced at Gate, Loyola, Sawmill, Onipepeye and Iwo Road, he provided a market on the NITEL/Old Ife road. He provided the Plank Market at Ajoda for those relocated from the Saw Mill area.

    “For those formerly at Sango/UI, Oremeji, Poly Road, the Trade Fair Complex was provided to take care of them. For those at Agbeni/Ogunpa, Labaowo and Akilapa, the government has provided the Olorunsogo (SAWIA) alternative.

    “We challenge Ladoja to name the market he built during his inglorious term. What alternative did he provide for the church and construction company he demolished on Ring Road?

    “What alternative did he provide when he demolished shops at Orita Aperin-Adesola, Orita Aperin-Elekuro, Orita Aperin-Adekile and Academy Under-Bridge?

    “Oyo State has gone beyond the dirty politics that threw up Ladoja and his cohorts. Our people remember his administration as laid-back with zero initiative.”

    Also yesterday, a group, the Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation (AGF), condemned Ladoja’s “statement” that the Ajimobi administration should not attempt to rig the forthcoming council election.

    AGF Coordinator Alhaji Bello Folawiyo said the statement should not have come from a man whose party (Accord) enjoys “largesse” from the Ajimobi administration.

    He wondered why somebody the governor holds in high esteem would utter such “a reckless statement”, which he said is capable of disturbing the peace in the state.

    Folawiyo urged Ladoja to desist from “cheap blackmail” and face the numerous challenges facing him and his party.

     

  • ACN chieftain berates Accord Party, Ladoja

    ACN chieftain berates Accord Party, Ladoja

    A chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in Oyo State, Alhaji Abass Oloko, has berated the former governor and leader of Accord Party in the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, for making what he referred to as cheap blackmail against the incumbent administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

    Oloko, who was reacting to a statement issued by the Accord Party’s media director, Prince Dotun Oyelade, where he criticised Governor Abiola Ajimobi for terminating the appointments of 12 directors in some councils in the state, while others were redeployed, noted that the Ajimobi-led government is an administration that follows due process, adding that there is no law in the constitution which forbids the termination of appointment of any worker that runs foul of the law.

    “The directors were not sacked unjustly as being speculated in some quarters. Accord Party and Senator Ladoja should mind their business and desist from feeding the public with lies. Accord Party wants to cause crisis in this state, but the good people of the state will not allow it to happen,” Oloko said.

    According to Oloko, who is also a member of the Oyo State Health Management Board, Accord Party led by Senator Ladoja did not in any way contribute to the electoral success of Sen. Ajimobi as being peddled in some quarters. He added that if not for the magnanimity of the present administration, he wouldn’t have extended a hand of fellowship to members of the Accord Party.