The immediate past Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has floated another political group in Osun State amid the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The new group, Omoluabi Caucus of the APC was inaugurated by the former Governor in his Ilesa hometown on Tuesday.
Aregbesola reiterated his commitment to progressive ideals of the APC, saying political parties are amalgamation of different interests and tendencies.
According to him, “The Omoluabi Tendency is a caucus within the All Progressives Congress (APC); actually one of the caucuses in the state. We are not a faction. We are the genuine foundation members of the party and we have no intention of abandoning the ship of the party as it navigates the most turbulent waters. We are no sprinters, but long-distance runners and we will still be standing when all the fair-weathers have gone.
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“A political party is actually an agglomeration of interests and tendencies. Reading well from the United States where we borrowed the Presidential System, we can see that the Republican Party is made up of big businesses, nationalists, religious right and others. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is composed of welfarists, labour unions, ethnic and sexual minorities and others.
“They are together in the party because their interests are broadly similar and they believe the party is the right vehicle for them to realise their goals. Sometimes they compete and clash, but for most part, they cooperate and form strong bond to give their party the victory in every election cycle. The party loses anytime this bond is broken.”
The immediate past Minister of Interior also stated that the launch of the Omoluabi Caucus is to renew their path in progressive politics as inherited from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bola Ige, amongst other progressives “who epitomise the Omoluabi ethos”.
He added that the party’s loss in the last governorship election could be traced to the departure from progressive ideals, but vowed that it will bounce back to its winning ways.
After the formal launch of the caucus, the group adopted its charter which includes; Progressivism, Omoluabi Ethos, Discipline, Competence and Inclusivity as its core values.
