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.
It was gathered that the meeting, which held late at night, followed a report by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
It was 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
It was 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.’”
Punch