Scores of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Osun State who are supporters of former governor of the state and current Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs during Aregbesola’s tenure, Mr Kolapo Alimi led the members from 19 local government areas of the state to their new party.
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This followed the crisis in the state chapter of the APC as a result of the battle between Aregbesola and the state Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola over the control of the party structure.
PDP leaders and the party’s governorship candidate for the July 16 election in the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke received the defectors at the PDP Secretariat in Osogbo, the state capital.
Alimi who led the defectors said they were ready to work with PDP to unseat Governor Oyetola.
He said, “Shortly after the inauguration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, he started divisive politics against those he perceived as loyalists of Aregbesola. We cried out to so many quarters without any solution. You know Aregbesola himself is a bigwig in APC and he cannot leave the party but to those of us that can no longer withstand the heat, we have to move out.”
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi said the defection was an indication of victory for Adeleke in the next gubernatorial election.
But the spokesperson for APC in the state, Mr Kunle Oyatomi said Alimi and his followers had done a lot of damage to the party before they left and that they would not be missed.
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