Osun: Aregbesola Fights For Relevance

A former governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola, has set up a political group in the state known as “Omoluabi Caucus” to advance his interests.

Speaking at the launch of the group on Tuesday at Ilesa in Osun, Aregbesola said APC lost the last gubernatorial election in the state because of lack of focus.

The former state’s helmsman however debunked the suggestion that he’s trying to form a factional, in a statement signed by his media aide, Sola Fasure.

He said, “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.

“Emerging from the ashes of the near annihilation of our party in the governorship election of 2022 and the general election earlier this year, we should rise up and renew our strength and reclaim our place in the political firmament in Osun.

“Our party failed principally because of indiscipline and lack/loss of focus. This is manifested in the form of lack of character and incompetence.

“Character is the mental and moral qualities required in an individual to occupy a certain office or perform a certain task.”

The former governor has been struggling for relevance in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC over the role he played in ensuring that the party lost the governorship to the rival People’s Democratic Party, PDP, last year.

Before the historic election, Aregbesola, the immediate past Minister of the Interior was said to have directed his supporters to vote against Gboyega Oyetola, a former governor, and APC candidate for the election.

Oyetola lost the election to Ademola Adeleke, the PDP candidate whose victory, according to watchers of politics in the state would not have been possible without the infighting in the APC.

To compensate for his loss in the decisive election, Oyetola was last week appointed the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and has been sworn in on Monday alongside 44 cabinet ministers.

His appointment, according to analysts has ruffled feathers in Aregbesola’s camp which is now concerned that the former governor may use his position as a minister to further assert himself as the APC leader in the Sunshine State, as Osun is widely known.

“From the position of things today, Oyetola is the de facto APC leader in Osun state by virtue of being the highest political office holder as a Cabinet Minister and a former governor. These facts cannot be contested even by his political opponents,” a source in APC said on Wednesday.

Aregbesola is not happy that the former governor and ally has taken the shine from him, and is now looking for a way to bounce back to reckoning by asserting himself as the undisputed political leader in the state, according to those watching what is going on in the state.

“We are taking our position back. Aregbesola is still the leader of “Omoluabi”, the platform used by the former governor to get to political relevance. We are not fighting anybody. As you know politics is a game of numbers, and that’s what we intend to prove to those who think Aregbesola is no longer relevant in the politics of Osun state,” a close aide of the former minister who preferred anonymity told the magazine today.