The gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin, has been told to desist from dragging Governor ‘Seyi Makinde’s name into the controversies rocking his party.
Special Assistant (Print Media) to the Oyo State governor, Moses Alao, gave this warning on Monday, urging Folarin to bear the cross of his “desperate and evil political scheming,” which he said, has brought trouble to the APC.
The statement added that instead of pointing accusing fingers at the governor, Folarin should concentrate on fixing the myriad of problems facing his party.
The response is coming on the heels of a statement in which Folarin claimed that Governor Makinde was using an APC National Assembly member, Hon. Shina Peller, to blackmail him.
According to Alao, the claim by Folarin was unfounded and laughable, as he wondered why a three-term senator and former governorship candidate would sulk like a baby and try to hide behind one finger after he has been caught in the webs of his desperation and shenanigans.
Alao, who wondered how it was convenient for Folarin, whose penchant for desperate politics and violence is common knowledge among Oyo State residents, to accuse Governor Makinde of using Peller against him, when in actual fact, he (Folarin) was the one that orchestrated all the troubles facing the Oyo APC through his undemocratic tendencies.
The governor’s aide added that it was not unexpected that Folarin will become wilder and intractable in his obsession to tear Makinde’s government down with lies and baseless accusations, having realised that he (Folarin) lacks the character, integrity or goodwill that can match Makinde’s ahead of the 2023 election.
He maintained that with the APC becoming a shadow of itself and with the heavy haemorrhage it is now suffering from the “jagba blows” inflicted by a certain individual, Folarin resorted to underhand politics to discredit a performing governor like Makinde.
Alao, however, warned the APC governorship candidate, to desist from his desperation to defame Makinde, saying that the senator has begun to fall into his own traps and “is now looking for means of diverting the heat.”
The statement read: “In what appeared to be a comedy of the absurd, Oyo APC governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin, claimed that Governor Makinde is using the member representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency, against him.
“Is it not strange how Senator Folarin can go from sounding like a warrior, brandishing swords and threatening violence to sulking like a baby, accusing a PDP governor of using a senatorial aspirant in his (Folarin’s) party against him?
“While Governor Makinde was busy with the PDP National Convention, planning how to rescue Nigeria from the clueless APC, Senator Folarin and his APC journeymen were trying to undo one another in thuggery and evil scheming, a development that has now brought the APC to its knees.
“It was, therefore, funny that Folarin could falsely accuse Makinde of being his party’s problem, when it is obvious that he (Folarin) is reaping a whirlwind where he has sown a wind.
“One thing is clear; Senator Folarin is trying to hide behind one finger after his shenanigans have caught up with him, as the undemocratic and party-hijacking tendencies have blown in his face across the State. We do not have any words of sympathy for the APC, may the party not recover!
“However, if Folarin has an issue with Hon. Peller, a senatorial aspirant in his party and some thugs allegedly linked to him (Folarin) were arrested over attempts to unleash violence in Iseyin, what has that got to do with Makinde?
“Obviously, Senator Folarin tried to drag the governor’s name into this situation because the pressure of the troubles in APC is getting harder by the day, with the party hemorrhaging heavily, as stalwarts protesting against Folarin’s shenanigans have drawn a battle line.”
The statement called on Folarin to respect his own claim of hating libel by not publishing unverifiable lies against Governor Makinde, saying that the Senator should either change his ways, if, indeed, he is after Hon. Peller or look at other sources for his problem, instead of seeking to derail Makinde, who is busy delivering good governance.
The statement equally commended the Operation Burst, which prevented the attempt on the APC chieftain, Hon. Peller’s life as well the Police, Amotekun and other security agencies, for working hard over the weekend to prevent APC from turning the State to a war zone.
“While one cannot but sympathise with Folarin, who thought he could usurp the APC platform to challenge Makinde in 2023, but has now met his match from the aborigine APC members, it is expedient to warn the senator not to overreach himself by thinking he has the character or integrity of a candidate that can challenge Makinde.
“The people of Oyo State cannot be deceived; they know each politician and what they stand for. They cannot forget the individuals who thrive on violence and have allegations of crime hanging on their necks. They also cannot forget those brandishing swords at campaign rallies, as if calling for war.”
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
