APC berates Akintola over denigrating comments on party

• Group lauds supporters’ defection to PDP
• Says it’s wise decision, opposition now a sinking boat

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has berated Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) over his comments criticising the party in the state.

It described him as a politician whose ambition is only to ensure disunity within the ranks of the party to pave way for the emergence of PDP gubernatorial candidate in 2023.

The party stated this in a statement signed by its Ward 9 Chairman, Ido Local Council, Ismail Babatunde, on behalf of the party executives and members, and made available to journalists in Ibadan.

The APC, however, lambasted Akintola for deliberately de-marketing the party through his uncultured outbursts in an interview he granted while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.

“Our attention has been drawn to the series of unguarded utterances made by Chief Niyi Akintola disregarding the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) and its 2023 governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin, while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.

“It is despicable that Chief Niyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, whose conduct should be guided by his enduring experience and professional practice, went on air to unleash denigrating remarks on a party that breathed life to his dying political career because he lost the bid to secure the party’s 2023 gubernatorial ticket.

“While he should have realised that he flunks every contest because of his lack of political will and acceptance, he blames everyone for his shortcomings. This is not Chief Akintola’s first instance of moral turpitude. He adopted the same strategy in 2019 by eventually lending his support to Seyi Makinde. It comes as no surprise that he is once again playing the spoiler game,’’ the statement read.

MEANWHILE, an Oyo State-based socio-political group, the Oyo Kajola Group (OKG), yesterday, lauded supporters of Akintola for joining the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oke-Ogun and Oyo zones.

It, however, said that they had taken the wisest decision.

A statement by the OKG’s Media Co-ordinator, Adebayo Ayandele, laughed at the effort of Oyo APC to discredit Akintola over his comments on a radio on Saturday, saying: “The APC is a drowning party trying to cling to just anything to stay afloat.”

It said that the Senior Advocate could not be wished away as a strong APC chief, having been at the vanguard of the legal tussle between APC local council chairmen and the Makinde government, a case that helped APC to remain a bit relevant in the state.

The group urged Akintola to ignore the rants from the opposition and join hands with well-meaning residents of Oyo State to work for the re-election of Governor Seyi Makinde, who it said, had turned around the state in just three years.