The crisis rocking the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new dimension.
The camps of Governor Gboyega Oyetola and Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, renewed hostility in the buildup to Saturday’s gubernatorial primary.
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At the end of his two terms as governor, Aregbesola handed over to Oyetola, who served as his Chief of Staff.
This had created a friction in the ruling party as the APC almost lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Earlier in the week, Aregbesola accused Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the APC, of forcing Oyetola into office through the backdoor.
He had declared support for Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, a former Secretary to Osun State Government, saying Oyetola must be thrown out of office like former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos.
In an open letter to Tinubu, who is Oyetola’s cousin, Aregbesola’s supporters described the incumbent Osun governor as a weak candidate.
Aregbesola’s loyalists under the aegis of The Osun Progressives (TOP), cited reasons why they feel Oyetola stands no chance in the forthcoming election.
Among those who signed the letter are Adeoti; former Osun speaker, Najim Salam; Adelowo Adebiyi; Osun APC factional leader, Rasaq Salinsile; Alhaji Issa Adesiji; Kolapo Alimi; and Adelani Baderinwa.
“The fact is that as of 2018, Osun Central Senatorial District had ruled for 11 and half years and Osun West Senatorial District had only governed the state for one year 10 months and so, the agitation for the Osun West Senatorial District to produce the next Governor was fierce and huge. However, Aregbesola complied with the directive of Tinubu by swimming against the political tide and did everything possible to ensure that Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola emerge as the candidate of the APC. That decision alone fragmented the party such that a section of the party decamped to ADP.”
“It should be noted that there are so many factors that were responsible for the declaration of the last governorship election being inconclusive, among which was the decamping of a section of our party to another party, but the major factor was the mere fact that Oyetola was a weak candidate and unpopular in his Local Government, Boripe Local Government,” the factional leaders claimed.
They complained that Oyetola from the inception of his administration labeled his predecessor, Aregbesola, as “someone who did not want him to win the election and someone with whom he should not associate.”
“Governor Oyetola started a campaign of calumny against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and politics of segregation within the party such that whoever is perceived to be associated with or harbour any interest in the legacy of Ogbeni or commitment to him is alienated from the government and the party no matter his contribution to the success of the party.”
