The Democratic Peoples Platform (DPP), a pressure group within the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it read with amusement on one hand, and utter disgust on the other, claims by the deputy governor, Bayo Lawal, in a recent interview granted a national daily, particularly about his open and unbridled display of arrogance captured in his “nobody can rival my political influence in Oke-Ogun” refrain.
Dr. Kunle Lamidi, DPP’s spokesperson, in a statement issued in Saki, headquarters of Saki West Local Government, wondered what motivated the erstwhile Chair of the Oyo State Housing Corporation to make such bogus claims when he knows his true political worth, devoid of the undue colorations of his current position.
“We’re alarmed that since Barrister Lawal came on board, he has been terribly preoccupied with feeble attempts at asserting a non-existent authority and undeserved pre-eminence, instead of rallying support for the re-election of our beloved governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
“We recall, sadly too, that barely had he settled in office that there was a kangaroo and grossly ill-advised endorsement of his leadership in Oke-Ogun by some opportunists, when even a baby politician knows who the real leaders and promoters of our great party are.
“Doesn’t it stand logic on the head for our dear deputy governor to think he can be leader over the likes of Senator Hosea Agboola, Chairman, Governor’s Advisory Council, or Senator Gbenga Babalola, a recent appointee into the same Council, or even Chief Jacob Adetoro, veteran politician and leader of leaders? Is appointment into the position of deputy governor now the fillip to ascend the coveted position of party leader across the 10 local government areas in Oke-Ogun? Certainly not!
The group, writing further, argued that probably because of Barrister Lawal’s excitement, first at being named, albeit surprisingly, as deputy governor, and then as acting governor, or being beclouded by the dizzying heights he has unexpectedly reached without as much as lifting a finger, he has suddenly forgotten his exact political weight, and has begun overestimating his true stock.
“For a man who on three unsuccessful occasions contested the senatorial seat of Oyo North, and woefully lost on all occasions; 2003, 2011 and 2019, under the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Accord and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to even have the effontery and presence of mind to allude to those failed electoral projects as evidence of political worth is nothing but vainglory – it just doesn’t cut it.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to remind our dear deputy governor that members of the PDP in Oke-Ogun know who their leaders are, and aren’t in no way fazed by the antics of modern-day converts to the illustrious Seyi Makinde cause. We only want to appeal to His Excellency, Mr. Deputy Governor, to please concentrate his efforts on how to market our candidates to victory in 2023 instead of journeying needlessly on unnecessary ego trips capable of not only diminishing the noble efforts of loyal party leaders and members who led our party to the victory whose benefits are now being lapped up by current-day converts like him, but also alienating stalwarts who may feel offended by the boasts of a last minute invitee lashing out at party hosts.
“Mr. Deputy Governor, we put it to you that your arrogance stinks,” the statement concluded.
