Former Oyo governor who supported PDP, Makinde in 2019 reportedly set to join APC
- There are indications that the former Oyo governor, Ladoja, is set to join the APC with his followers
- This follows a merger talk meeting between his party, ZLP, and the ruling APC on Friday, February 12
- Ladoja's ZLP was one of the formidable parties that aligned with the PDP to produce the incumbent Oyo governor, Seyi Makinde, in 2019
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Senator Rasidi Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo state, is set to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 general elections, Daily Trust has reported.
The newspaper stated the Ladoja and his supporters in Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) on Friday, February 12, initiated merger talks with the APC.
The meeting, which was held at the Premier Hotel, Mokla, Ibadan, was reportedly approved by Ladoja.
Source: Twitter
In 2019, the ZLP, under Ladoja's leadership aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties to elect the incumbent governor, Seyi Makinde.
Legit.ng gathers that Sharafadeen Alli, the governorship candidate of the ZLP in 2019, led a team of Ladoja's loyalists to the meeting while the acting chairman of the APC, Akin Oke, led the APC team.
One of the APC chieftains at the meeting, Wale Ohu, said there was nothing new about the gathering “because this is a season of consultations, party consultations."
2023: Ladoja visits Tinubu in Bourdillon
In what seems like a preparation for his speculated presidential ambition, the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, played a host to Ladoja, in his Bourdillon home, Lagos.
Tinubu, who was an ex-governor of Lagos state, set tongues wagging by receiving notable Nigerians in his house.
Though the APC leader is yet to announce any interest in the race to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, the train of visitors to Bourdillon makes people believe it may be about 2023 presidency.
Read also
APC registration: Massive turnout is another vote of confidence in Buhari - Malami declares
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Ladoja's visit to Tinubu in Lagos not about 2023 politics
Nevertheless, Ladoja's media aide, Lanre Latinwo, dismissed the speculations that Ladoja's visit to Tinubu was about the 2023 elections.
He reiterated that the visit has nothing to do with the 2023 politics which has consistently dominated the media space.
According to the former governor's media aide, Ladoja only visited Tinubu to console him over the losses he suffered during the violence which trailed the #EndSARS protests in Lagos.
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Nurudeen Lawal is a Legit.ng journalist passionate about fact-checking/verification journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature-in-English from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. As Politics Editor, Nurudeen mostly writes on Nigeria’s political and socio-economic developments. He has attended different workshops, conferences and training on fact-checking and digital reporting, among others. Learn more about him on Twitter, @Nurudeen Lawal_
Source: Legit.ng
