The Oyo state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has dared Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to refund the money for party nomination forms to his party aspirants if he had any integrity to match the promise he also made to do same.This was as the ruling PDP stated that Governor Seyi Makinde and the leadership of the party have started refunding all PDP aspirants of their nomination fees starting from all aspirants from the four local governments in Oyo zone as earlier promised, urging Folarin and APC to toe the path of honour and fulfill the promise they made to their Aspirants before the opposition’s party primaries.
The Oyo state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Akeem Olatunji, made the disclosure in a press statement on Saturday morning of November 26.
It was maintained in the Oyo PDP statement that integrity, honour and what the party called the ‘omoluabi ethos’ in Yoruba parlance, are inborn and natural, and can not therefore, be acted by anyone lacking any of them.
Olatunji alleged Folarin of extorting his party Aspirants and candidates before, during, and after APC primaries, wondering why a three term senator would expose what the ruling PDP described as unbridled greed, insatiable hunger for more money to self aggrandize.
Oyo State PDP alleged that the APC governorship candidate was not only a misfit but also a political calamity to the state political landscape as his candidature fails to meet up the requisite qualities expected of an opposition and co-contender.
“The current crop of Oyo APC members are dying in silence, especially Aspirants on the platform of the party because they’ve been boxed to a corner and have since become victims of Folarin’s ‘jagba’ politics.
“We have on good authority, how Teslim Folarin has used his role as the self imposed leader of Oyo APC to extort Aspirants and candidates before, during, and after its primary elections.
“Some individuals were even extorted to the tune of about 100 million naira simply because they aspire to contest for an elective office on the platform of the opposition party. This is nothing short of highest level of wickedness, callousness, and insensitivity of a self acclaimed opposition party leader.
“How can a man unremorsefully extort his fellow men in the same political party, in what could best be likened to ‘daylight political robbery’ by a three term senator of the federal republic?
“The beauty of democracy is to have vibrant opposition that will keep government on its toes as well as credible political opponents that would serve as alternatives to the ruling party. That is how democracy evolves but what we unfortunately have here in Oyo state are desperate political merchants hoping to lay their hands on the state’s Treasury, and this is why we are very concerned as the ruling party.
“How can such a man with zero integrity and honour, who even without being a governor has started using his ‘jagba’ role as the Oyo APC governorship candidate in 2023 to extort his fellow party aspirants?
“We have no atom of doubt, that if Folarin ever got a chance to hold the number one office in Oyo for just 24 hours, the senator would not only rule like a draconic emperor, he would be far worse than a military dictator.
“To simply state it mildly, Folarin’s candidature has become a source of serious embarrassment to not only the ruling PDP but other opposition parties who have had to deal with such a political personality as Folarin who has zero respect for democratic processes.
“We know that Folarin and his cronies in the opposition party will not do the needful or do the right thing to refund all APC Aspirants that have been extorted because, to them, it’s all about how much can be cornered from the system, but in the spirit of ‘omoluabi’, the senator and Oyo APC should do what Governor Makinde and our party have done.
“We hope that Folarin, if there’s any slightest atom of integrity and or honour to his name, will immediately commence refunding of APC Aspirants’ money to them as exemplified by Governor Seyi Makinde because it is not a matter of compelling obligation but simply of ‘omoluabi’.” Oyo PDP stated.
