THE cold war between Governor Abiola Ajimobi and leader of Accord Party (AP) in the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, deepened Wednesday as the governor disengaged AP nominees from his government.
The governor, in a letter to Ladoja, recounted how the erstwhile chief executive had breached the tenets of agreement reached by both parties, as well as his incessant vituperations on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)-led government.
In the letter, Ajimobi traced the history of his alliance with the former governor and how, in the last few months, Ladoja had consistently broken the tenets of the accord by casting aspersion on a government in which he vicariously participated, through the participation of his nominees and proxies, which included his younger brother.
"Immediately after the 2011 election, because of the peculiar configuration of the electoral balance, it was obvious that, for the good of our state and its development, I needed to extend my handshake across other frontiers.
"You will recall also that after the elections, I met with you to ask for an alliance between your political party, Accord Party and my government. The basis of the relationship being demanded was for you to support me and contribute, as well as participate, positively in the governance of the state, considering the devastation and degradation that had been visited on the state over the years.
"You will also recall that, at my meeting with you, you agreed with me that, for a total restoration of the state, there was the need for well-meaning citizens of Oyo State to eliminate the politics of brickbats, mudslinging and the proverbial Pull Him-Down-Syndrome, which had become the byword for politicking in our state. This politics invariably misinforms the citizenry through subterfuge and has, over the years, contributed in stalling the development of the state.
"At that meeting, you agreed with me that there was the need to rescue the state from those vices of the political arena that had driven it backwards," the letter read in part.
Governor Ajimobi said that in spite of the initial opposition by his party's echelon, which had reasoned that Ladoja's ambition to govern the state again would destroy the alliance; he stuck to the agreement with Ladoja, believing that as a sportsman, the former governor would respect the spirit and letter of the alliance.
"Regrettably, recent developments, in terms of the conduct of your people and the campaign of calumny which is recorded frequently in the newspapers, unsubstantiated allegations, as well as unwarranted vitriolic attacks against my person and the government under my leadership, have made me come to the conclusion that these recent campaigns against me are incompatible with the spirit of our alliance," the governor said.
Ajimobi argued that being a beneficiary of the alliance, it was inconsistent with reality for the former governor to consistently run his administration down.
"There is nowhere in the world where an alliance that benefits a participating partner is repaid by destructive maneuvers and corrosive innuendoes aimed at bringing down the house as this," he said.
"It is in view of the foregoing that I am using this medium to inform you of my decision to disengage your nominees from the government... I feel constrained to take this painful but inevitable decision, in view of our personal relationship," Ajimobi said.
Affected by this sack were two commissioners, two special advisers, some chairmen and members of boards, caretaker chairman of a local council and others who were nominees of the former governor.
The Guardian