2011: JONATHAN'LL CONTEST – AKALA

By NBF News

President Goodluck Jonathan will contest in the 2011 presidential general election, Oyo State Governor, Adebayo Alao Akala, has declared.

While making the assertion yesterday in Ibadan during his monthly media chat with journalists, Akala declared that, 'Don't doubt me, I am sure Jonathan will contest, I am saying it on good authority, you can quote me anywhere, he will contest and I will do everything to ensure his electoral victory.'

He also spoke about the news of some of his aides who are already rooting for the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, becoming the next president of the country, saying those people you call my aides are free to declare for anybody.'

Some aides of the governor had in some weeks ago held a rally at Total Garden area in Ibadan, where they publicly declared their support for the presidential ambition of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida.

At the rally were the former chairman, Akinyele Local Government, Chief Yemi Aderibigbe, wife of the late Ibadan politician, Alhaja Bose Adedibu, former chairman, Ibadan North East Local Government, Mr. Akeem Ige, the Chairman, State Trans City Transport Company (TCTC), Alhaji Sina Alabi, and the Vice Chairman, Muslim Welfare Board, Alhaji Abass Oloko, among others

But Governor Akala in his reaction yesterday said, 'Those people you call my aides, I don't even know them, where is their position in this government, they are not part of my think-tank, anybody is free to declare his/her loyalty for whoever he /she wishes, if these people you talked about are rooting for IBB, so be it, if I am to send anybody to such event where you said my aides declared for IBB, you should know those that I will send there, not those expired politicians.

For me, I am strongly in support of Jonathan contesting for 2011 general election.'

He noted that the declaration of IBB, to contest the presidential election and his adamant posture that he will run despite all odds is good for the party as it would give room for competition, adding: 'Babangida is free to contest the 2011 presidential elections, remember the party will still go through primaries and at the end of the day, the party's candidate will emerge.'

On the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state, Akala said: 'Contrary to insinuation that the partywas against the return of some of the aggrieved members, I can tell you that there was nothing like that, the party is at all times ready to accommodate genuine and loyal members back into its mainstream in the spirit of the ongoing reconciliation but not people that will come and destroy all the structures we have built, they were in the party before until some of them went astray and they now want to comeback and claim their former position, it is wrong, it is even ungodly.

We know where they were during the last general elections in 2007, without them we won that elections, even the party had won all the re-run elections so far held in the state that is to show that PDP is very solid in Oyo State even without them.'