The Accord Party governorship candidate in Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has dismissed rumours of him stepping down for any candidate in his new party.

Adelabu stated this during a meeting with former council vice chairmen, secretaries, chiefs of staff and supervisory councillors held in Ibadan.

“It’s a blatant lie that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu called me to return to the All Progressives Congress. He’s my political father and mentor but he won’t give such order. He’s fully aware of my defection to Accord and believed my reasons for the defection are justifiable,” Adelabu said.

He noted that he had notified Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of his decision to pursue his ambition in Accord Party after he had made several protest about various irregularities in the party.

The Agba Akin Parakoyi of Ibadanland, while dismissing the Oyo APC reconciliation effort, narrated that the huge fraud committed during ward, local government, state and delegate congresses, was done to prevent him and Asiwaju Tinubu from emerging as gubernatorial and presidential candidates, respectively.

“I finally tendered my resignation of membership to my APC ward chairman on the 26th of May 2022 after due consultation with my leaders and supporters about the various irregularities in the party. Prior to the elections, the delegate list had been compromised across board.

“Secondly, Oyo APC gubernatorial primaries was shifted to the next day contrary to INEC guidelines and two venues were highlighted to conduct the elections,” he added.

The Accord governorship candidate stated that he had been the major financier of Oyo APC since 2019, saying he’s now the gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party in Oyo sState

“My interest in politics is to deliver good governance through people oriented policies that would drive the economy of the state to enviable heights. This is our vision for Oyo state.”

Adelabu noted the he always ensured that his efforts and contributions were evenly distributed across wards and zones in the state and appreciated the support received from across the 33 local government areas in the State.

While responding, the forum of Former Council Vice Chairmen, Secretaries, Chiefs of Staff, Councilors and Supervisory Councilors during separate meetings, promised to support and mobilize the electorate for Cheif Bayo Adelabu to reclaim his gubernatorial mandate due to his love and passion to develop the state through good governance and managerial skills.

Speaking on behalf of the forum, Ajayi Roland, Oyo North; Akeem Ogunsakin Oyo Central; Sunday Akinyemi, Oyo South; and Sola Omotola from Oyo Central, said all members of the forum in 351 wards across the state would support the governorship aspiration of Chief Adelabu in 2023. (Vanguard)