The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the March 28 election in Oyo State, Teslim Folarin, revealed on Saturday why he lost the election to the sitting Governor, Seyi Makinde.

Recall that Makinde polled 563,756 votes to defeat Folarin, who scored 256,685 votes.

He made this known at Idigbaro, Ologuneru, in the Ido Local Government Area of the state, during a reception and victory party held in honour of a member, representing Ibarapa/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Remi Oseni.

Folarin explained that he lost the election due to what he termed a “political arrangement” for the APC to win the presidential poll for President Bola Tinubu.

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He said, “If we are talking about the strongest party in the state today, it is APC. We won three senatorial seats and nine out of Federal constituency seats. Our people are already in the election tribunal and I can tell you that we would win two more Federal constituency seats. On the governorship election, we were thrown under the bus.

“In politics, if I am asked to choose between governorship and presidency, I will choose the latter. We have taken the presidency and our president, Tinubu, is doing well. Things are hard now, but I want Nigerians to bear and exercise patience because better days are coming soon.

“Let us stand with this government because it is our government. This is because if there’s a problem in the future regarding governance, they will say we need to call the Yoruba to fix it. Two things are constants in my life, which are Islam and politics. My own level has passed the fact that I have to become the governor before thanking God.”

While appreciating the organisers and party members, House of Representatives member, Oseni expressed his gratitude for the support and love he received during and after his election.

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He, therefore, promised to provide qualitative representation to his constituency in the Green Chamber.

He said, “Nigerians should be patient with Tinubu because he has the capacity to address the nation’s challenges and turn Nigeria’s situation around for good. I’m pleading with you to give him maximum support for him to succeed.”

Dignitaries at the event were, Folarin, former deputy governors of the state, Iyiola Oladokun and Moses Alake; Chairman of the APC in the South Senatorial District, Honourable Mojeed Olaoya; former chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Ademola Omotosho; traditional rulers, clerics, and a host of others.

PUNCH