Adebayo Adelabu, the immediate past minister of power, has rejected the endorsement of Sharafadeen Alli as the consensus governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state.
On Friday, some APC leaders in Oyo endorsed the serving senator as the 2027 consensus candidate during a meeting in Ibadan, the state capital.
Ayo Adeseun, a former senator, had said President Bola Tinubu gave his backing to Alli’s candidacy.
“Mr. President remains the leader of our party, and his opinion on who flies the party’s flag must be given due consideration,” Adeseun had said.
‘I GOT TINUBU’S BACKING BEFORE RESIGNING AS MINISTER’
On Saturday, Adelabu and his supporters attended the APC Ibadan south-east meeting.
Speaking during the meeting, Adelabu said he secured the president’s approval to pursue his governorship ambition.
Adelabu said the politicians insinuating that the president had endorsed a governorship candidate in Oyo are “telling lies”.
“Before I resigned, I said, I need to see the person who appointed me for a face-to-face conversation. That was why I delayed my resignation to have time to see him (Tinubu),” Adelabu said in Yoruba language.
“He called some stakeholders in Oyo so that when I see him, he will know what to tell me. I met him last week in a closed-door meeting. I can’t tell lies against the president publicly.
“He told me that ‘Bayo, it is time. We have been on this ambition for a very long time. It is a long-time ambition of yours. As much as I want you to be around me, I won’t hinder your ambition. Go and resign to start work’.
“By the grace of God, that is what he told me. He said he will look at it and reach out to two or three persons to see whether a consensus arrangement is possible, and that if it is not possible, we will go through the route of direct primary. That is what the president told me.
“Anybody saying he had a meeting with the president and that he endorsed someone is telling lies. They are telling lies.
“The president has not called anybody to endorse any candidate in Oyo.”
The former minister added that even if Tinubu chooses to endorse a candidate in Oyo state, it would be him.
