Aregbesola Frustrated Oyetola’s Second-Term Bid To Block Tinubu’s Presidency — APC Chieftain

A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Sunday Akere, has made serious allegations against former governor Rauf Aregbesola, claiming that he actively undermined the second-term ambitions of his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, to sabotage President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election.

Speaking during the “Frontliners” interview programme organized by the Osun State League of Veteran Journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre on Thursday, Akere suggested that Aregbesola has been using Oyetola as a pawn in his political games against Tinubu, his estranged mentor.

“The issue is not between Oyetola and Aregbesola. Aregbe wanted to fight his boss, and he saw Oyetola as a soft tool for him to use to fight his boss, that is, the President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Oyetola, the former governor, didn’t have anything to do with Aregbesola because they didn’t have any issue,” Akere stated.

The former commissioner during Aregbesola’s administration revealed that the rift between Aregbesola and Oyetola remains unresolved.

He recounted a recent discussion with a leader of the Omoluabi Progressives, who indicated that Aregbesola’s faction has publicly renounced allegiance to Tinubu and is willing to wait years to reclaim power, reflecting a significant divide within the party.

Akere criticized the national leadership of the APC for failing to address Aregbesola’s alleged anti-party activities, emphasizing that the local party lacks the authority to discipline such a prominent figure without national intervention.

In a move to solidify the party’s future, Akere announced that the APC has decided to endorse Oyetola as its candidate for the 2026 governorship election in Osun, expressing confidence that the party would triumph over the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

When approached for a response, Sola Fasure, a close ally of Aregbesola, dismissed Akere’s accusations, stating, “APC is dead in Osun.”

He further alleged that Akere and Oyetola’s supporters frequently invoke Aregbesola’s name to gain relevance and secure federal appointments.

“The point is that APC is invariably dead in Osun, and if you say who is APC now, you will hear Akere, Kola Olabisi, and the party chairman, so there are only three of them remaining in APC in the state. So, one of the ways they find relevance for themselves is to always drag Aregbesola’s name, and so it is not surprising that if any one of them is looking for a job in Abuja, he will drag Aregbesola’s name.

“They are the ones actually putting the former governor (Oyetola) into crisis because they always make enemies for him and they position themselves in such a way that they turn the former governor into a prisoner of power. Though he was in power, they have made him their own prisoner, and everything is time.

“All that nonsense he is saying, he is just finding relevance for himself. He is looking for a job through federal appointment or something like that, so one of the ways they do it is to just mention Aregbesola’s name and be seen to be attacking Aregbe. It is a common tactic for all of them,” Fasure posited.