Executive Chairman of Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA) Mogaji Akin Fagbemi has explained why he withdrew from the House of Representatives race.
Fagbemi made this disclosure on Thursday.
Our correspondent gathered that Fagbemi is one of the aspirants jostling to contest for the Ibadan North West/Ibadan South West federal constituency seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
It was gathered that the occupant of the seat, Hon. Stanley Olajide Adedeji, is a member of PDP.
TrackNews, however, gathered that Fagbemi has withdrawn from the contest.
Fagbemi, when contacted on Thursday, said that he decided to withdraw from the race in order to foster unity among members of the party.
Fagbemi, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Fatai Olugbade, said that the seat has been occupied by people from Ibadan South West local government area since the return of democracy in 1999.
He warned media handlers of the current occupant of the seat, Adedeji to desist from making unnecessary remarks about him (Fagbemi).
Fagbemi, who said that he has decided to support the re-election bid of Adedeji in 2023, explained that such unnecessary remarks may jeopardise the existing peace among political leaders in PDP in the federal constituency.
Fagbemi said, “On this premise, Mogaji Fagbemi had in the best interest of the party decided to withdraw from the race so as to foster unity among the rank and files of the party.
“And most importantly initiated the power shift/ rotational arrangement that would ensure that the Seat of the House of Representatives of the Constituency is rotated between the two local governments as against the current lopsided election of Representatives only of the Ibadan Southwest Local Government extraction since the return of democracy in 1999.
“This agreement was alluded to, signed and sealed by the leaders of both local governments including Alhaja Bose Adedibu (Southwest PDP women leader), Alhaji Wasiu Adeleke (Oyo State PDP Secretary), Alhaji Rahman Adepoju (Chairman, Ibadan Northwest LGA), Hon. Kehinde Akande (Chairman, Ibadan Southwest LGA) among several other leaders.
“We therefore call on the scavenger journalists and unconstituted errand boys writing on behalf of the media team of Hon. Adedeji to desist from the unnecessary overheating of the polity and stop deepening the depth of the pit their principal could fall into through the falsehoods being circulated on social media.
“They are strongly advised to join hands with Fagbemi and other well meaning party leaders across the federal constituency to devise means of defeating the opposition parties round and square and to secure the victory of all PDP candidates across Oyo State and by extension the entire country.”
