76… express grievances, bare their minds on Oyetola, party’s chances in next Saturday’s election
President Bola Tinubu on Monday summoned no fewer than 76 leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State to the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, over growing disquiet within the party ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the meeting, which held late at night, followed a report by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Our correspondents learnt that Ribadu’s report indicated that several APC leaders in the state were unhappy and had been sidelined in the party’s affairs, including the ongoing campaign.
Tinubu, according to multiple sources who attended the meeting, directed the leaders to close ranks and ensure that the party candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, emerged victorious at the poll.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that APC leaders were provided with chartered flights from Ibadan, Oyo State, while a few others, including a former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters, Babajide Omoworare, left from Lagos.
According to a former local government chairman who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, some of the APC leaders at the meeting included a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Olubunmi Ete; former speakers of the state House of Assembly, Mojeed Alabi, Adejare Bello and Wale Afolabi; and Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, Poju Odusola and Bode Olanipekun.
The APC chieftain disclosed that the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, was contacted by the Presidency to identify, coordinate and lead the party’s leaders for the meeting.
Another chieftain who attended the meeting from Boluwaduro Local Government Area of the state said Ribadu’s report compelled Tinubu to summon the leaders.
“The meeting was at the instance of an intelligence report from the NSA. I am aware that he told Tinubu that many APC leaders in Osun were not happy and had not been carried along in the party’s affairs, including the ongoing campaign. Ribadu said the development, if not urgently addressed, could jeopardise the chances of the party.
“The President then immediately called SRJ (Basiru) and told him to organise the APC leaders who have not been involved in the scheme of things in Osun. Basiru made the arrangement, including getting flights for us in Ibadan, and the President met us late Monday night at the Aso Rock. We returned to Osun on Tuesday morning,” the chieftain disclosed.
Similarly, one of the former lawmakers at the meeting described the gathering as a no-holds-barred platform where the APC leaders expressed their grievances and provided a way forward to win the forthcoming election.
He said “APC leaders who have been sidelined in the scheme of things in the state” were the ones at the meeting.
“We were around 76 in number at the meeting. It was an opportunity for the President to know the truth about what is happening in Osun State. We told him how the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has given federal appointments to only members of his IleriOluwa camp.
“We told the President the truth, that the majority of us, the APC leaders, don’t know how the party is being run. At the meeting, we reviewed the federal appointees from Osun and Mr President agreed with us that they belong to Oyetola’s camp, while other members of the party are left with nothing.”
Asked what the response of the President was, the insider said, “Mr President told us that we shouldn’t throw away the bathwater with the baby. He said the party would be at the receiving end if the APC loses the next election.”
He added that the President expressed his disappointment in some leaders because of the party’s losses in the 2022 and 2023 elections.
Quoting the President, the ex-lawmaker stated that Tinubu said, “Oyetola had all the resources to win his re-election. But he couldn’t use them. Though he lost the election, I appointed him as a minister. In the real sense, it is the party that lost. So, go and work for the victory of the party.”
This was as another APC chieftain at the meeting, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, described the gathering as productive.
He maintained that all the attendees were happy with how the President addressed their grievances.
According to him, all the attendees expressed doubts about the inclusivity of the APC government if the party eventually wins the governorship election, fearing that the “IleriOluwa camp might not carry other party members along.”
“But the President responded by saying, ‘You don’t need to worry yourself. If the appointments in Osun are exhausted, there are enough rooms to accommodate everybody from Osun at the federal [level]. So, go and unite and deliver Osun.’”
Efforts to confirm the meeting from Basiru proved abortive, as he did not answer calls or respond to messages sent to him.
But the Director of Media and Publicity of the Osun APC, Kola Olabisi, confirmed the meeting, though he declined further comment on it.
“Yes, I am aware. That is all I can say,” he said while speaking with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday.
Similarly, a loyalist of the APC national secretary confirmed the meeting, attributing it to Basiru’s efforts to ensure that the party wins the election.
The source said, “He (Basiru) was at the meeting. Ete, Sooko Adewoyin, Wale Afolabi, Mojeed Alabi, Omoworare and other leaders were also at the meeting. Basiru facilitated it because he is committed to ensuring that the party wins the coming election. All the APC leaders at the meeting are the people who matter in the state, but because of one reason or the other, they have been sidelined.
“The reality is that you cannot go into an election when there is disquiet in the party. SRJ (Basiru) wants everyone to be happy and genuinely work for the party. As the National Secretary of the party, you don’t expect him to sit back and watch things get bad.
“People are nursing grievances, and we want to ensure that they don’t go to the election with that. We want every party leader and member to see the election as a collective project. He wants the candidate to win, and that is why he is doing what he is doing. He has campaigned publicly for AMBO, the candidate. He has been funding and leading campaigns at the grassroots.”
Also, the chairman of one of the sub-committees of the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council confirmed the meeting on condition of anonymity.
“They went to Abuja on Monday to meet with the President. The APC leaders were about 76, and some of them have started to mobilise for AMBO’s victory,” he said.
APC, Accord Party trade blames over election hackers
Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s Accord Party has accused the APC of importing and harbouring election hackers at a hotel in Osogbo, the state capital.
The party subsequently called on security agencies to act swiftly and apprehend those involved in the alleged illegal operation.
The allegations were contained in a statement signed by the state Chairman of the Accord Party, Victor Akande, and made available to journalists in Osogbo on Saturday.
The party further alleged that credible reports indicated that the hackers were brought in to hack the digital system of the Independent National Electoral Commission and tamper with the election results.
Akande said, “The hackers were brought in from Lagos and Abuja, and they have set up an operational centre at the hotel. Their target is to compromise the INEC electronic system to input fake election results into the INEC server.
“The party called on the electoral commission to firm up its digital system and strengthen its ICT security in the face of cyber threats from the opposition APC.
“We also call on security agencies to raid the GMT Hotel and other illegal centres to stop the ongoing anti-democracy activities.”
He urged INEC to remain vigilant and review its digital security measures, warning that any attempt to hack or manipulate the results of next Saturday’s election would be resisted by the people.
But in a swift response, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, dismissed the allegations, saying the party would win the coming poll without engaging in electoral fraud.
Olabisi, who warned the Accord Party against making frivolous claims, said fear of defeat was responsible for the allegations raised against the APC by the Osun ruling party.
He described the claim as “false and baseless,” urging the electorate in the state to disregard the accusation against the party.
“The allegation that our party is harbouring hackers in a particular hotel in Osogbo is false and without any foundation, and there is no basis for that. It is an attempt to lower the esteem of our party in the eyes of the right-thinking members of society. Our party does not need to rig any election before our candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, wins the election.
“It is the fear of losing the election that is haunting the Accord Party functionaries who are peddling the information. It is nothing but a figment of the imagination of those peddling the rumour. There is nothing like that. If they are sure that we are harbouring any hacker, the right place for the Accord Party to go is the police,” Olabisi said.
(Source: Punch except the modified headline)
