Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, explained how the tension between him and Senator Rashidi Ladoja over perceived plans by him to put obstacles on the path of Ladoja becoming Olubadan of Ibadan land was resolved. He said truce was brokered when some respected Ibadan elders invited the duo to a meeting where he prostrated and apologised to Ladoja for any way he might have erred.
The governor said that since the peace was brokered, he had been having meetings with Ladoja to ensure they continue to have lines of agreement. Makinde, who spoke on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Ladoja in Bodija, Ibadan, said that his political history would not be written without the mention of Ladoja.
He said that his encounter with Ladoja dated back to the year 2002 when he and some other persons formed the Fortune group meant to support the governorship ambition of Ladoja, adding that the former governor mid-wived the coalition that made him become governor in 2019.
Makinde, however, acknowledged that he usually had disagreements with Ladoja during the various electoral cycles since 2007 with the 2023 election being the latest.
He said that the pre-2023 election disagreement with Ladoja was his political stance on the Presidency, which the former governor feared would seal the fate of the three senatorial candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election.
“I see how people abuse me, saying I do not want Senator Ladoja to become Olubadan.
“Then, I was invited to a meeting by Ibadan elders. The meeting started with Ladoja saying, Seyi, I know you feel offended because I did not support you in the last election because the position you took made the senators contesting on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lose the last election.
“I then responded that, Daddy, sometimes you may not know the outcome of what you’re trying to do because you may want to achieve certain things. If that didn’t happen, Sarafadeen Alli may not have become a senator today.”
“I said, Daddy, I have nothing against you, and there’s no way that my political history will be written without the name, Senator Rashidi Ladoja,” he said.
Meanwhile, the birthday celebration at Ladoja’s house featured prayers, especially by Islamic clerics led by the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abdulganiy Agbotomokekere.
Makinde also used the occasion to explain that though he had noticed how some individuals have been accusing him of converting everywhere to a housing estate, some developments have to take place even if they appear to be unpalatable at the moment.
He said that decisions being taken were in the best interest of the state, saying, however, that wherever there are challenges, his government remains open to addressing them and finding a lasting solution.