Osun APC Has Lost Its Credibility and Direction

I woke up this morning reflecting on the issues surrounding the sinking APC party.

What is currently happening in the APC in Osun State can best be described with the Yoruba adage: “Ajá tó máa sọnù, kì í gbọ́ fèrè ọlọ́dẹ”, which translates to: “A dog destined to get lost will not heed the hunter’s whistle.” The APC in Osun State today perfectly fits this description.

 

Fast forward to the selection of its governorship candidate and campaign leaders: It is no longer news to anyone in Osun’s political space that the Osun APC candidate was imposed on the party over seven other contestants. Among them was the highly respected Senator Iyiola Omisore, a former Deputy Governor and two-term Senator of the Federal Republic, who served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Budget Appropriations and later as National Secretary of the APC. Also disqualified was the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state. Omooba Dotun Babayemi was another victim of this unfair treatment by the current Osun APC leaders. His case is particularly disappointing because he left his former party and brought hundreds of his followers into the APC after the 2022 gubernatorial election.

 

These respected leaders who were unfairly treated have not been given any tangible compensation. They have been completely sidelined from the party they helped build, as clearly seen in recent party gatherings. None of these disqualified aspirants was considered fit to lead the party’s campaign. Instead, the few individuals currently controlling the party appointed Wole Oke as the campaign Director-General.

This is the same Hon Wole Oke who has been rejected by his constituents in the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency. This is the same Wole Oke who was allegedly caught on video threatening his constituents recently — a video that went viral on social media. This is also the same Wole Oke who was recently accused by Obokun-born lawyer, Barrister Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq., of diverting constituency project funds and facing other corruption allegations. Yet, he has been chosen to lead the APC campaign in Osun State — a state filled with enlightened and politically aware citizens.

 

The APC did not stop at appointing Wole Oke as DG. They also appointed Prince Adebayo Adeleke, popularly known as BANIK, as DG for Osun Central. Prince BANIK is widely known across the state as a liar by social media commentators. He has been accused by the present administration in Osun State of involvement in the diversion of a $20 million World Bank health intervention fund given to the state during the Oyetola administration, with company accounts allegedly traced to him. There are also rumours that Prince BANIK and others involved in the diversion were invited for questioning but were granted administrative bail because they enjoy federal protection. He is also known for being regularly embarrassed on radio stations by callers who expose his lies during live programmes.

 

The Osun APC has got it wrong from the beginning to the end in its selections. There is no remedy because time is no longer on their side. With just four months and two days to the gubernatorial election, there is no room left for correction.

Meanwhile, the good people of Osun State continue to show strong and unwavering support for Governor Ademola Adeleke. The ACCORD as a party has received a large number of decampees, including from the hometown of the immediate past Governor, who remains the major decision-maker in the Osun APC today. This is a clear indication that the APC has been totally rejected by the people.

 

The APC will never return to its glorious days in Osun State, as the right-thinking members of the party left after 2022 when they saw a plot to hijack the party by an opportunist who is only enjoying his closeness to the President. The party is now flooded with PDP-rejected politicians who worked against the party during 2022 governorship election and desperate to find a platform where they can enjoy impunity.

 

Osun people have already made up their minds. No amount of propaganda can change their preference for Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15th governorship election. Under Adeleke’s leadership, Osun State has been placed on a very high pedestal and is now recognised as one of the best-governed states in Nigeria. Few of his achievements include:

-Improvement in the education sector, with Osun moving from 33rd to 7th position in the National Examination Council (NECO) and other National Examination Council rankings.

-Reduction of infrastructure deficit from about 80% to less than 30%. Over 350 kilometres of rural and urban roads have been constructed within three years, along with three flyover bridges and dualized roads.

-In the health sector, Governor Adeleke has rehabilitated over 200 Primary Health facilities across the state with modern equipment. Osun has won the South West Primary Health Competition twice, carting home $500,000 prize money each time — outperforming states with much larger allocations such as Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, and Oyo.

 

Osun cannot afford to return to the hands of those who stagnated the state’s development and practised anti-people governance. It was under the APC administration that hundreds of workers and pensioners died due to unpaid salaries, pensions, and gratuities. In contrast, Governor Ademola Adeleke has not only paid salaries regularly but has also enrolled over 25,000 retirees into health insurance — an initiative that the Tinubu government has had to replicate. Over 10,000 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and 1,000 inmates in Ilesha and Ile-Ife correctional centres now enjoy free access to medical treatments under the administration of Asiwaju Ademola Adeleke.

 

Governor Ademola Adeleke’s style of governance is completely different from that of previous APC administrations. This is why the people of Osun have decided to support him to continue his good work and lead the state until 2030. These are not mere exaggerations but verifiable facts. A government that pays workers a minimum wage of ₦75,000, compared to the ₦30,000 paid under the APC, deserves re-election without hesitation.

 

All these achievements were recorded by Governor Ademola Adeleke amid the seizure of Local Government allocations, which have accumulated to nearly ₦200 billion. Local Governments in Osun State have remained non-functional due to the APC’s desperation to be in control. Fortunately, the Adeleke-led government has been paying local government workers from the State’s pocket.

 

Long Live Osun State!

Long Live Nigeria!

 

Osun has found its path to glory and will not go back to the days of reckoning.

 

I remain yours truly,

Michael Adebayo

Ward 07, Eripa,

Boluwaduro Local Government.