A political advocacy group in Oyo State has cautioned former lawmaker, Hon. Olusegun Olaleye, popularly known as “Radical Brother,” against dragging the names of late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, former First Lady Florence Ajimobi, Senator Sarafadeen Alli and party chieftain Hon. Sina Alabi into what it described as “political misadventures” following the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly ticket contest in Ibadan North Constituency II.
In a statement signed by Sola Abegunde and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the group said it had initially sympathised with Olaleye over his loss of the APC ticket to Hon. Steve Adeyoju but expressed disappointment over what it termed his “immature reactions” and public outbursts after the primary election.
The group accused the former two-term member of the Oyo State House of Assembly of making unfounded allegations against leaders of the party and engaging in public attacks through viral videos and radio appearances.
According to the statement, the APC national guidelines and the amended Electoral Act only recognise consensus arrangements and direct primaries as legitimate methods for the emergence of party candidates.
The group explained that although a 10-member committee was constituted by the party leadership in Oyo State to explore consensus arrangements across the 33 local government areas, the committee failed to secure voluntary withdrawal from aspirants in Ibadan North Constituency II.
It noted that the inability of the aspirants to step down made direct primaries inevitable.
“The committee he kept referring to has no force of law. The Electoral Act does not recognise such committees, neither does the party constitution empower any committee to enforce consensus,” the statement read.
The group further argued that consensus could only be achieved if all aspirants willingly withdrew in writing in favour of a single candidate, adding that such conditions were not met in the constituency.
It also questioned why Olaleye participated in the direct primaries if he believed his candidacy had already been secured through consensus.
“Why did he not begin his campaign of ‘opin de’ before the primary election? Why did he agree to participate in the primaries when he believed his candidacy was sacrosanct?” the statement queried.
The group particularly condemned attempts to link prominent APC figures to the outcome of the contest, insisting that the allegations were based on hearsay.
It defended Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, noting that she is not from Ibadan North Local Government, while also stating that Senator Sarafadeen Alli and Hon. Sina Alabi had maintained longstanding relationships with Prince Niran Adeyoju, father of the APC candidate, Steve Adeyoju.
The statement urged members of the public to disregard what it described as false and misleading allegations against party leaders.
It also appealed to Olaleye to exercise restraint in his public conduct, stressing that his actions could have implications for his personal reputation and family image.
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