Minister of Interior and former governor of Osun State, South West Nigeria, Rauf Aregbesola has declared war ahead of the Osun State, All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship primary election scheduled for February 19th, 2022.
Gatekeepers News reports that Aregbesola said he trusted All Progressives Congress National Leader, Bola Tinubu, but he repaid him with betrayal.
He accused Tinubu; a former APC interim chairman and ex-governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande, of foisting the current governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola, on the people, against popular will.
Aregbesola, who leads an APC faction in the state called The Osun Progressives had been engaged in a feud with his successor, Oyetola.
He accused Oyetola of not consolidating on his eight-year achievements.
Aregbesola, therefore, called on the party members in Osun to support a former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti, in Saturday’s governorship primary.
He also said just as ex-governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, was rejected by APC members in 2019 for working against the laid down rules, Oyetola would be thrown out of office after just a term.
Aregbesola while addressing APC members loyal to his faction on Monday in Ijebu Jesa in Osun, said no man can terrify him.
He insisted that Oyetola won’t be reelected for a second term in office.
Aregbesola said, “Only God can terrify us, not man. Go and tell them wherever they are, we own this party.
“We own this Afenifere group. We own this people-loving group started by our patriarchs — (Obafemi) Awolowo and Bola Ige.
“This is Elder Akande’s group before he temporarily left us. This is our party. Stop calling yourself a factional group; you are not a faction; you are the authentic APC.
“We came back home to reposition our party to where it was meant to be because we followed the leading of our leader that we thought was a noble and reliable fellow. We followed him (Tinubu) dutifully with all sense of loyalty. Some people even thought that we were no longer Muslims because of how we cooperated with him. We dealt with him without treachery but we never knew he planned evil for us. We exalted him beyond his status and he turned himself to a god over us and we had sworn to ridicule anyone who compare himself to God. God has no competitor; He is enough to be God.
“We built this party on perseverance as well as sweat and blood. We lost a lot of people in this struggle but eventually, we came into government on November 27, 2010. We were in government for eight years and governed according to the measure of God’s grace, everybody in Osun enjoyed our tenure.
“When he (Tinubu) will hand over the present governor to me around July of 2018, he (Tinubu) declared that he (Oyetola) will succeed me and continue my good works. That was what he told me. He knows he has not done so if he is listening now and he has failed to call my successor to order.
“That was how it was in Lagos at a time; a governor derailed and the party members unseated him using the ballot boxes. As it was in Lagos yesterday, so shall it be in Osun today. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.”
