Governor of Oyo state Seyi Makinde has announced the chairman of the state’s Housing Corporation Bayo Lawal as his new running in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Governor Makinde made this declaration during a stakeholders meeting with the Oke Ogun members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Ibadan.
The declaration is coming few days after the incumbent Deputy Governor of Oyo state Rauf Olaniyan announced his defection from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress
Bayo Lawal is from Kishi, Irepo local Government area of Oke Ogun, Oyo state.
He is also a former Attorney General of Oyo state in 1999 under the administration of Governor Lam Adeshina.
The announcement follows the official defection of the State Deputy Governor, Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress from where he originally left to join the Allied Democratic Congress.
He joined the Peoples Democratic Party following an alliance between all opposition parties against the then ruling All Progressives Congress led by Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi.
There has been no love lost between the Governor Seyi Makinde and his deputy, Engineer Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, from the onset of the current administration.
The defection was one event many observers of Political development in Oyo State had expected to happen before now with the kite of impeachment by loyalists of the governor flown against the deputy governor sometimes in the year 2020.
Since then it had become a matter of when not if the governor will drop him for his second term bid.
The announcement of his defection was after the fait accompli that he will not return as deputy governor with the governor deftly waiting until his defection was official before picking a new running mate.
Observers and residents will now wait to find out what the future holds for both the governor and his deputy with the alignments and re-alignments that preceeded the 2019 elections in the State still fresh in peoples memories.
