Though about 18 governorship candidates are contesting the 2023 governorship election in Oyo State, only three are major contenders and from all indications, one of these trio will emerge the winner of the race.
The three major contenders are the sitting governor, Engr Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Teslim Folarin of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Chief Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party (AP).
The other candidates whose names will appear on the ballot papers possibly for the democratic aesthetic are Popoola Joshua of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ajekigbe Olaniyi of Action Alliance (AA), Agbomeji Olamide of Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Agboyega Raymond of National Rescue Movement (NRM).
Others are Ajadi Ganiyu of the Democratic Congress (DC), Sadiq Adigun of the Labour Party (LP), Okunade Adeyemi of Boot Party (BP), Okedara Mojeed of African Action Congress (AAC), Yakubu Adekunle of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adeniran Oluwaseye of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adeshina Excel of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Yusuf Adebola of Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Yinusa Ayandoye of Action Peoples Party (APP).
Going by experience, the unpopular candidates and their parties will normally end up scoring very poor votes cast in elections as some of them would likely have less than 1000 of the millions of vote cast.
While the strength of Makinde lies in the power of incumbency, popularity among the civil servants and pensioners and execution of people-centred projects, whilehis close contender, Folarin is banking on his federal might. Apart from being a sitting senator, his party, APC controls the nation at the federal level. Adelabu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was the candidate of APC in 2019 but his failure to secure the party ticket made him decamp to the Accord Party.
