The differences between Governor Seyi Makinde and Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan, the Southwest leader of New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), has been settled with both parties pledging to work together for the development of Oyo State.
The two arch-enemies met and made their reconciliation public, following a series of discussions they must have had before the March 18 2023 governorship election.
Recall that Makinde, the flag bearer of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated candidates of major opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Teslim Folarin and Accord Party, Adebayo Adelabu, to become the second incumbent governor of Oyo State to break the second term jinx.
Olopoeyan, who visited Makinde after he (Olopoeyan) had written a congratulatory message to the governor on Monday, told The Guardian, “We were not really at war before but just some misunderstanding, which we resolved today after our meeting. The development and progress of Oyo State overrides every other interest whether politics or personal.”
The Southwest leader of NNPP also disclosed there had been a series of interventions orchestrated by intermediaries between him and the governor before the gubernatorial election.
Olopoeyan, played a major role that ensured the victory of Makinde in the 2019 governorship election but the duo fell apart due to irreconcilable misunderstanding after the election, which led to Olopoeyan defection from the PDP to NNPP.
Few days before last Saturday’s election, Political Adviser to the governor, Babatunde Oduyoye, was said to have visited Olopoeyan to broker peace between the two. Though details of the meeting weren’t disclosed, both parties refused to talk about it.
Another intrigues that played out among the political gladiators in Oyo was the Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president-elect, factor.
Majority of the key players in Oyo, including Makinde, were said to have considered the need to support Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, which was the reason why APC cleared the three senatorial districts seats and eight out of the 14 House of Representatives seats in the February 25 2023 presidential and National Assembly polls, while Makinde won overwhelmingly on Saturday and PDP cleared 28 out of the State Assembly seats while APC won only four.
The political stakeholders in Oyo, who appeared to be at loggerheads before the February 25 2023 and March 18 polls, were said to have been meeting one another either through intermediaries or one-on-one to broker peace in consideration for Tinubu, but they decided to keep the game to their chest.
According to a source, “That is the reason why Oyo State is one the peaceful states, if not the most peaceful during the two general elections. You can see that all the gladiators were quick to congratulate Tinubu and Makinde, across political divides immediately after the polls.”
