Former members of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in Oyo State have accused Governor Seyi Makinde of abandoning them after they played a crucial role in securing his second-term victory.
The group had dissolved its structures across the state’s 33 local governments on February 17, 2021, to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and support Makinde’s administration.
Welcomed into the PDP with promises of full integration, the former ZLP members began working tirelessly for the governor’s re-election bid from 2021 until the governorship election on February 18, 2023.
However, at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Wednesday, the group expressed deep disappointment with the governor’s failure to honour his promises.
According to the group’s leader, Comrade Wole Abisoye, the Governor assured him, just a day after his re-election, that the ZLP members would be rewarded for their efforts.
Abisoye revealed that despite interventions by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja, who pleaded on their behalf, there has been no positive response from the governor.
The defunct ZLP members, who remain an integral part of the PDP in Oyo State, have now decided to leave the matter to God.
Despite their grievances over the “use and dump” attitude of Makinde towards the group, Abisoye affirmed the members’ continued support for Governor’s efforts to make Oyo State an economic development hub.
