- Explains why former Minister refused to be reconciled with Oyetola
- You’re only seeking relevance, Aregbesola’s aide blasts former commissioner
- Osun PDP kicks as ex-commissioner predicts victory for Oyetola in 2026
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Sunday Akere, has alleged that a former governor of the state, Rauf Aregbesola frustrated the second term governorship ambition of his successor, Gboyega Oyetola as a means of preventing President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election.
Akere spoke in Osogbo on Thursday while featuring on a programme organised by the League of Veteran Journalists, Osun State chapter.
He claimed that Aregbesola has been using Oyetola as a “soft sell” to fight his estranged political godfather, President Tinubu, claiming that the former Minister of Interior worked against the second term ambition of Oyetola in order to stop Tinubu from becoming President.
“The issue is not between Oyetola and Aregbesola. Aregbe wanted to fight his boss and he saw Oyetola as a soft tool for him to use to fight his boss, that is, the President, Senator Bola Tinubu. Oyetola, the former governor, didn’t have anything to do with Aregbesola because they didn’t have any issue,” he stated.
The APC chieftain who served as a commissioner during Aregbesola’s tenure as governor in the state argued that the former Minister refused to be reconciled with Oyetola.
On how he got wind of Aregbesola’s alleged deep hatred for Tinubu, Akere said, “I was at a function sometimes ago, I think around June or July in Ifewara, Atakunmosa, I met one of their (Omoluabi Progressives) leaders, we spoke at length, it was that day that I knew that it seems they have made up their mind on what they wanted to do.
“The leader told me that day that APC is Tinubu’s party. I want to say it clearly now so that the press can report it and that they can come and challenge us. He said APC is Tinubu’s party and he (Aregbesola) doesn’t have anything to do with Tinubu. And I asked him, who amongst you did not benefit from Tinubu? That day, he used another word and I know by the time he is reading this, he will remember and I reported him to most of our leaders that this is what this man said because I was so much embittered, we are making efforts to resolve this thing and you are still dragging it to another level.
“That day, he said if it can take Tinubu over 20 years to get to the level which he is in Nigeria today, he doesn’t mind if it takes him (Aregbesola) 20 years to take over power and I said on which platform? Today, Nigeria has two major parties, APC and PDP, if you say you want a third party here in Osun, I said he will just be wasting his time. Some of them said they cannot do PDP but me; I am convinced within myself that they are still working for PDP. One of them was removed from position a few days ago; another one of the TOP was to replace him yesterday. If you (Aregbesola) as a leader that has about 400 or 500 supporters said you voted for APC but your supporters can vote for another party of their choice.”
Expressing displeasure over the delay in the national leadership of APC to take decisive steps on the alleged anti-party activities of Aregbesola, Akere said, “we have written to the national secretariat, those that we feel they don’t want to retrace their steps are on suspension, those that have taken appointments have been expelled from the party, but for Ogbeni, the leader, the constitution of the party did not allow the party at the state to discipline anybody of a governor’s rank. So, we made recommendations to the national secretariat which we have since done.
“When I saw the video last week, I sent it to Baba Akande that he should see the people we are still harbouring as party members. We don’t know what is delaying the national secretariat or the leadership from taking decisions because they are the only ones that can suspend, expel or discipline former governors. It is even good they are doing what they are doing because they are deceiving people that they are still with us and now everybody knows you are no longer part of the party and they should go to where they belong. I want to assure you that that will not affect our chances and fate in the 2026 governorship election by the grace of God. APC is still intact and will get power in Osun.
When contacted for reaction, one of the close allies of Aregbesola, Sola Fasure dismissed Akere’s claims, saying “APC is dead in Osun.”
Fasure said it has become a stock in trade for Akere and other supporters of Oyetola to seek relevance and federal jobs by mentioning Aregbesola’s name.
“The point is that APC is invariably dead in Osun and if you say who is APC now, you will hear Akere, Kola Olabisi, and the party chairman, and so, there are only three of them remaining in APC in the state. So, one of the ways they find relevance for themselves is to always drag Aregbesola’s name and so it is not surprising that if anyone of them is looking for a job in Abuja, he will drag Aregbesola’s name and they are the ones actually putting the former governor (Oyetola) into crisis because they always make enemy for him and they position themselves in such a way that they turn the former governor into a prisoner of power.
“Though he was in power, they have made him their own prisoner and everything is time. All that nonsense he is saying, he is just finding relevance for himself. He is looking for a job through federal appointment or something like that, so, one of the ways they do it is to just mention Aregbesola’s name and be seen to be attacking Aregbe. It is a common tactic to all of them,” Fasure posited.
Osun PDP kicks as ex-commissioner predicts victory for Oyetola in 2026
Meanwhile, Akere has stated that Oyetola would defeat the ruling People’s Democratic Party in Osun State if the All Progressives Congress handed him the governorship ticket.
The ex-commissioner noted that numerous competent individuals within the Osun APC are well-positioned to contest as candidates in the 2026 governorship election.
However, he noted that Oyetola holds the right of first refusal, being the candidate of the party in the last poll, adding that the achievements recorded by the APC administration led by the immediate past governor would make it easier for him to win if fielded by his party.
Insisting that the Oyetola administration was not anti-workers, Akere stated that, within the resources available to him, the ex-governor did quite well, delivering quality public administration to the people of the state.
Akere said, “If Oyetola is fielded in 2026, he will beat the PDP hands down. Oyetola was never an enemy of civil servants. For the 48 months of his rule, there was no civil protest from any student.
“Oyetola paid a bursary to 3,100 students, and he never made a fuss about it, unlike someone who is spending N100 million now when they have taken N300 billion in revenue since they came to government about 23 months ago.
“What they have taken in 23 months is what Oyetola got for the entire 48 months of his reign, and there was never a single protest.
“Oyetola never interfered in the leadership choices of any tertiary institution in Osun. He never said those who were qualified should be denied for one reason or another. He would never encourage any illegality.”
Speaking on the quality and cost of projects being executed by the current administration in the state, Akere noted that low-quality projects were being carried out for a huge amount, stressing that better-quality projects were delivered by the immediate past administration for a lesser amount.
Reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity in the Osun PDP, Oladele Bamiji, stated that his party would defeat whoever is presented by the APC in the 2026 poll, as the people of Osun still believe in the capacity of the current ruling party in the state to deliver good governance.
Bamiji said, “Whoever they bring in 2026, Governor Ademola Adeleke and the PDP will defeat that person thoroughly. We are not bragging. The people of Osun will not go back to the failures of past years. Governor Adeleke is delivering on the mandate given to him, and the people are happy with him. So, let them bring Oyetola or any other person; Governor Adeleke and the PDP will record a massive victory.
“Mr Akere also spoke about receiving a bigger allocation now. Why is he not considering the value of the allocation when the pump price was less than N200, and now that the APC government has raised the pump price to a level most people can no longer afford?
“Also, is he an engineer, or has he conducted research on our projects to determine their quality? It is obvious they are still bitter that Governor Adeleke ended their reign. Osun is not receiving an extraordinary allocation at present, yet Adeleke has performed beyond expectations. Our projects are of the best quality; there is no contest about that.”
