The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Southwest has declared that it did not bribe former governor of Oyo State Adebayo Alao-Akala to support its governorship candidate, Adebayo Adelabu in the Saturday election.
The party in a statement by its Zonal Secretary, Ayo Afolabi, said such belief is being allegedly spread by agents of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which it described as corrupt.
The party said persuading Alao-Akala to support Adelabu was not a Herculean task being its former member.
The statement read: “It has come to the notice of our Party, the All Progressives Congress the unfounded rumor going round in the social media and in some blogs that the APC induced Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala with a huge amount of money for his support to sway him and his numerous supporters across Oyo State to the side of APC in the gubernatorial and states house of assembly elections scheduled for March 9, 2019.
“This type of allegation can only exist in the minds and imagination of heavily corrupt PDP and their supporters. It is out of place for APC to give financial inducement to anyone with a view to gain or get the support of any one talkless of a person of Akala’s calibre who was until some six month ago a strong member of our party. It is true that the party approached former Gov. Akala and appealed to him to lend a helping hand for the success of APC in Oyo State as did PDP in the coming elections, this is normal in democracy.
“Akala made some demands which include among others: the completion of the teaching hospital in Ogbomoso which he wanted to be put to immediate use as soon as possible, the issue of LAUTECH which he wanted the governments of APC to address immediately and other sundry issues which are the basic ingredients for good governance. For anybody or group of people to accuse our party of offering money to former Governor Akala is share blackmail which can only exist in the imagination of the writer.
“We therefore enjoin the public to ignore such ranting of lazy minds whose only intention is to play politics with the integrity of our party and confuse the public.”
