…amid rumour of rift
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has removed his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, as the 2023 general elections approach.
Governor Makinde has appointed a former attorney general of the state, Mr Bayo Lawal to replace his sacked deputy.
Lawal is from Kishi in Irepo Local Government Area of the state.
The development, it was learnt, was the culmination of the one-year rift between Governor Makinde and Olaniyan.
It was learnt that Olaniyan’s supporters had been accusing the governor of breaching an agreement reached before they were elected into office in 2019.
They also accused Makinde of sidelining Olaniyan in running the affairs of the state.
Recall that Olaniyan was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress before the party and the Peoples Democratic Party formed an alliance before the 2019 election.
It was under the alliance that an agreement was struck that Olaniyan should run as Makinde’s deputy.
Olaniyan had recently debunked rumours of his plan to quit the PDP, vowing to remain in the ruling party in the state.