A former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has called on aggrieved contenders to stop litigations and join hands with Governor Abiola Ajimobi in moving the state forward.
In the same vein, the governor advised the Accord governorship candidate, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, to stop further litigation over the April 11 election by not proceeding to the Supreme Court.
Ala,o-Akala was one of the early callers at Ajimobi’s Oluyole, Ibadan residence to congratulate him on the verdict of the Court of Appeal Ibadan Division, which upheld his election victory on Thursday.
He said the victory was well deserved and was an affirmation of the popular mandate given to the governor by the people of the state.
The former governor used the opportunity to confirm media reports of his planned defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which, he said, was almost a done deal.
Alao-Akala said, “I am here to rejoice with my brother for the judgment of today in the court. We already knew what the outcome would be; we had expected what we got today. So we are rejoicing.
“The governor has the interest of the people of Oyo State at heart. He should, therefore, be allowed to take care of their welfare and to let them have life more abundant. We are all one.
“When somebody is in the front, you must follow him; God has put him there. Let us all help him so that he can also help the teeming population of Oyo State.
“I will advise the opposition or whoever is still aggrieved to please let us bury the hatchet and work together with the governor to move the state forward.’’
Commenting on his reported defection to APC, Alao-Akala said “it has been on; we are still crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. I am on my way (to APC)’’.
Addressing supporters and party faithful who thronged his house shortly after the judgment, Ajimobi dedicated his latest judicial victory to the Almighty and the people of the state.
The governor attributed the visit of his immediate predecessor to his (Alao-Akala’s) kindred spirit and God-fearing nature, asking other leading opposition members to take a cue from the gesture.
“We gave glory to God. If God says Yes, nobody can say No. we owe this victory to the Almighty and to the teeming population of Oyo State who wanted continuity and which reflected in their vote for me.
“I am appealing to my brother, Senator Ladoja and others to join us and work together with us instead of going from Appeal Court to Supreme Court.
“As you can see, we have formed an alliance with former Governor Alao-Akala; he is a formidable force in the politics of Oyo State and in Nigeria.
“An elephant in Ibadan, when he goes to London, he will remain an elephant. So an elephant in Peoples Democratic Party or Labour Party that comes to APC is still an elephant. So his coming is good. We are one,’’ the governor said.
Meanwhile, the APC in Oyo State has called on Ladoja to accept defeat and support Ajimobi.
This is contained in a statement by the party’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Mr Olawale Sadare, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday.
The party issued the statement after the validation of the victory of its candidate and the incumbent governor, Abiola Ajimobi, on Thursday by the appellate court in Ibadan.
Ladoja, who was dissatisfied with the declaration of Ajimobi as the winner of the poll, had challenged Ajimobi at both the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the appellate court.
“As the days roll by and all efforts to unseat Ajimobi as the governor of Oyo State by Ladoja proved abortive, it is imperative for him to save the time of the government and good people of the state.
“The needless political horse-trading after a globally acclaimed mandate had been delivered to the rightful winner is seen by all as a distraction,’’ the statement said.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan had earlier upheld Ajimobi’s victory and dismissed an appeal filed by Ladoja of Accord Party.
Ladoja and his party had challenged the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal delivered on October 27 in Ibadan.
The three-man tribunal headed by Justice Muhammed Mayaki had declared Ajimobi of APC the winner of the election.
The five-man panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice H.M Ogunjimiju, however, unanimously upheld the victory of Ajimobi in the April 11 governorship election in Oyo State.
Ogunjimiju said that the tribunal was right in not attributing any probative value to the evidence of Mr Bimbo Adepoju, Principal Witness (PW1) of the appellant, because he was a farmer.
She said that a farmer could not give an expert opinion and his testimony could not be relied on.
The totality of the evidence of the appellant, she added, rested solely on Adepoju who was a member of the APC.
The judge said that Adepoju informed the court that he could go to any length to ensure victory for his party.
She said that the evidence of Adepoju was biased and inconsistent because he was not an expert.
Ogunjimiju said that the exhibits tendered by the appellant were merely dumped in the court as no explanation was made.
The appeal, he said, lacked merit and was dismissed.
In his reaction, Mr Aderemi Adegbora, the counsel to Accord Party, said his client would head for the Supreme Court .
Mr Wole Aina, the counsel to APC, however, commended the court over the judgment.
