Former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, has formally endorsed Sharafadeen Alli as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a high-profile visit by Senator Alli to his Ibadan residence on Monday, Folarin declared that he has put past grievances aside. He pledged to lead a comprehensive reconciliation drive to unite aggrieved party leaders, ensuring victory for President Bola Tinubu, Alli, and all party candidates in the upcoming Oyo governorship election.
Folarin Addresses Oyo APC Internal Discord
Addressing Sharafadeen Alli alongside a large gathering of supporters in Yoruba, Folarin spoke candidly about the internal friction following previous party primaries. He acknowledged that anger among leaders was justified given their heavy personal investments over the years.
“I greet all of you. I won’t make political statement here now but will talk with you deeply. Only a bastard will be wronged and will not be angry. In the same way, only a bastard will reject apologies from those who wronged him,” Folarin stated.
“In our own approach, we won’t stand here and tell you there is no problem. There is a big problem. And what caused the problem? Some people don’t understand. As I am, I’ve invested 26 years of my life in the ambition to be a governor. If you now hold me down and say I shouldn’t be angry, that will be unrealistic. But If I see people others that have not invested much getting angry, I will ask them what they have invested to warrant that. People that are angry must be begged. And we must appeal to them.”
Evaluating Reconciliation Efforts Ahead of the Oyo Governorship Election
Folarin evaluated the progress made by the party’s reconciliation committee, offering a realistic assessment of what is required to unite the factional groups.
“I want to salute my elder brothers, Senator Femi Lanlehin, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja that are handling this reconciliation. But if they ask me to score them, I will grade them 20 per cent. The reason is that the 80 per cent of persons that should agree to resolution will not agree until people like us agree. But we are looking at it and time is gong. And we felt, should we allow things to be completely destroyed?”
Highlighting the sacrifices made behind the scenes to maintain party structure, Folarin praised the interventions of key stakeholders.
“What do we stand to gain if we allow things to collapse totally? May God preserve Engr. Idris and all he has. He did a lot to get us to where we are here today. Remember four of us had a meeting at Iyaganku-myself, Bayo, Buhari and Olaniyan. We want to hold a similar meeting here (his residence) during which we would agree not to allow reconciliation succeed. I was abroad, he was the one that sponsored the trip with the aim that if we are not at home, the meeting will not hold.”
“Idris asked me to stay abroad. When I called him and said I was tired of Staying abroad, he said I should go to Mecca… We thank him very much. He is angry as well, but if we look at how annoyed he is, yet he is thinking about tomorrow. You know we have to think about tomorrow. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I want to appeal to you, from today, we are going straight to Agodi. You will notice that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed me as Coordinator of Oyo State. He didn’t ask me to deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu only. It is all the candidates. As I was saying, Politics has started today. There is no way we’ll do it, we will still beg some people and they won’t agree. The way it will work in one person’s system will differ to the Other person. It is not compulsory to be friends! Just be a member of the party with us. The advantage I have is that I know all the aggrieved parties in all the councils. When I am angry myself, how will I not know the people we belong to the same club?”
Mobilising Strategy and Reward Systems for Teslim Folarin and Allied Leaders
Folarin urged members to focus on increasing vote tallies across the state while assuring grassroots politicians that their loyalty will be properly rewarded this season.
“I plead with you all. Sometimes it is like that. Sometimes in business, you lose, sometimes you gain. The votes we gave Asiwajú Tinubu in 2023, we must improve on it this time around. Some people are saying after we finish the presidential election, we will travel. Even if we want to travel, Idris won’t allow it. Anybody that know us know that if we want to do anything, we will do it. When we were at home and they didn’t give anything last time, did we die? I want to assure you, this one will be different. I have sat down with the president. You all know my friend, Senator Buhari. He also met with the president, and we have told him everything.”
He directly addressed long-standing concerns regarding political patronage and candidate alignment.
““The reward system in this party, not just in Oyo State, is very bad. When we finish working, the people who did nothing are the ones who get rewarded. That will not happen again. We will not accept it. Our candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, is a politician. It was the manner in which his candidacy emerged that made some people to be aggrieved. But if we put that aside, he is a politician. We, too, will continue to put pressure on him to ensure that you all get your rewards. You are the traditional politicians here, and we will not allow them to discard you. The computer politicians can do their own thing, while we do ours here. We will then combine our efforts to get to Agodi. By God’s grace, when we get there, you will all get your rewards.”
Folarin concluded by reminding supporters that collective effort remains vital for securing Government House, Agodi.
“I appeal to you because you know I do not like to fail when I take on a responsibility. The task entrusted to me has also been entrusted to all of us.”
