Stakeholders of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Saki East Local Government Area of Oyo State have distanced themselves from the purported adoption of former lawmaker, Hon. Ayobami Ojo, as the consensus candidate for the Saki East/Atisbo State Constituency seat ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The stakeholders, led by the APM Chairman in Saki East Local Government, Alhaji Muda Balogun, described the reported endorsement as misleading and inconsistent with the position earlier communicated to the party leadership at the state level.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Balogun said the stakeholders had already submitted their preferred choice to the state party secretariat, Governor Seyi Makinde, and the Deputy Governor, Barrister Bayo Lawal, insisting that their position remains unchanged.
“We vehemently distance ourselves from any attempt to impose a candidate on the constituency from outside the constituency,” the group stated.
The stakeholders reaffirmed their support for Hon. Rilwan Gbadamosi, maintaining that he remains their preferred candidate for the forthcoming election.
They further argued that Atisbo Local Government had occupied the constituency seat for three consecutive terms through the representation of Hon. Ademola Adejumobi, Hon. Ayobami Ojo, and Hon. Sangodipe.
According to the group, fairness and equity demand that Saki East should now be given the opportunity to produce the next representative for the constituency.
“He who wants to come to equity must come with clean hands. No one can coerce us into submission,” the statement added.
Recall that this newspaper had earlier reported that the APM leadership in Atisbo LGA and Saki East reaffirmed Hon. Ayobami Ojo as the party’s consensus candidate for the State House of Assembly election in 2027.
The party leadership had maintained that Hon. Ojo’s experience as a former Member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, former Chairman of Atisbo Local Government, former Local Government Secretary, and former Supervisory Councillor for Works distinguished him as the preferred choice of the party structure.
The leadership also dismissed claims linking Rt. Hon. Ridwan Saminu Gbadamosi, popularly known as Wale Canada, to the party’s ticket, insisting that “the APM in Atisbo and Saki East has not adopted, nor does it recognize” him as its candidate for the 2027 House of Assembly election.
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