LADOJA FLAYS CALLS TO STEP DOWN, ACN CANDIDATE INSISTS ON PLATEAU RACE

FORMER Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State, who is also the gubernatorial candidate of the Accord Party (AP), yesterday ruled out the possibility of stepping down for any opponent in the April 26 polls.

Ladoja said of the three leading governorship candidates in the state, he remained the best and most experienced of the lot.

Meanwhile, the Plateau State ACN's, gubernatorial candidate, Chris Giwa, has denied rumours that he had opted out of the race, saying he was still very much in the contest.

Giwa, who spoke with reporters in Jos yesterday, described the rumour as laughable, saying those that appreciated his vision for transforming the state and the depth of the programmes he has, cannot even imagine that he would opt out.

However, Ladoja insisted that his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) rival, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, 'who is surrounded by so many godfathers, should be prevailed upon to step down.'

Ladoja, in a statement by his Media Assistant, Lanre Latinwo, against the backdrop of calls by some interest groups in the state on him to drop his governorship ambition and team up with Ajimobi to wrestle control of the state from his former deputy, described the call as unnecessary, saying the result of the National Assembly election in the state was a confirmation of his acceptability.

'Instead of calling on the former governor to step down, Ajimobi should be prevailed upon to step down and team up with Ladoja, who is experienced and will never be controlled by godfathers and clique who see Oyo State as an addition to their investment portfolio.'

'Ladoja has always had the best interest of Oyo State at heart and does not need any group to appeal to him to step down for any candidate,' the statement indicated.

He said the call for him to contest was divine and would not have abandoned such a responsibility mid-way.

Giwa said so far, his programmes for turning Plateau State around was much better than that of the other candidates, hence he could not abandon the race but rather those whose programmes were not well-articulated for the general good of the state could step down for him.