Members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State have adopted Sen. Teslim Folarin, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate, as their preferred choice.
They made this known on Thursday after an emergency State Congress in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Chairman of the party, Mr Michael Okunlade, presided over the meeting attended by party leaders from across the 33 local government areas in the state.
NAN also reports that the meeting reviewed the performances of the party in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections before agreeing to a coalition.
NAN reports that the meeting, which expressed confidence in the collaboration with the APC candidate, Sen. Teslim Folarin, also called for caution.
The party leaders, in their separate remarks, agreed not to vote for Makinde considering his inability to fulfill the previous agreement with the coalition parties that brought him to power in 2019.
Okunlade said, “Majority of us had decided to join APC, owing to the injustice meted to us in the PDP and since we started.”
He said that their leaders, Alhaja Mulikat Akande-Adeola and others, have done very well for them till the moment, promising they won’t take the love for granted.
Okunlade said that his party decided to go with APC candidate in view of some wrongs done to them by the Makinde-led administration in the state.
“We believe that to right these wrongs, there is need for us to form a virile coalition with a party that can dislodge this administration that has shown itself to be lacking in development,” he said.
The SDP chairman said that after several meetings with major stakeholders, even outside their party, they resolved to go with Folarin.
Okunlade said that the support was just for the governorship, calling on supporters to vote for the SDP House of Assembly candidates.
“Our decision is not based on anything than the development of our dear state. He has the record. He is not someone who would promise what he won’t do.
“He is as straight as that. All these said, I like to enjoin all of us to go out enmasse and vote for SDP House of Assembly candidates,” he said. (NAN)
