Former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a Board of Trustee member of the party, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, and former PDP governorship aspirant, Prince Dotun Babayemi, were given heroic receptions into the All Progressive Congress (APC) fold after their official defections into the party on Friday.
Other defectors were the former governorship aspirant under the platform of the According Party (AP), Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, and Faruq Abbas, the Chief of Staff to the Osun House of Assembly Speaker.
While welcoming them at the state party secretariat in Osogbo, the chairman of the party, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, described their departure as a good omen for the party and assured them that they would not regret taking the decision.
He, however, charged them to use all their resources to add more value to the greatness and advancement of the party in the state.
According to him, “Today’s defection ceremony is unique in the sense that Omooba Babayemi is defecting into the opposition party, the APC, in the state, which is not a common phenomenon, as what is common is for some unprincipled politicians to cross from the opposition to the ruling party where they can take part in eating from the filthy political crumbs falling off the table of a governor whose moral standing is questionable and shaky.”
“It is, however, pertinent to recall that Omooba Babayemi, before now, wasn’t a stranger to the Progressive Party, as it is too recent to forget that he was a resourceful leader of the Progressive Party at a time in the history of this state where he contributed his quota to the smooth-running of the party.”
“Based on the above analogy, it won’t be out of tune to christen Omooba Babayemi as *’Omowale’* in his new political association. Omooba, you and your supporters and the other eminent leaders of the PDP who summoned the rare courage to cross over to the perpetual abode of light, unlike the cosmetic light on the other side of the divide, are very much welcome on board.”.
“I am also using this occasion to assure Prince Babayemi and his supporters, who are defecting into the APC, that there would be equal opportunity for them and the old members of the party.”
“Your decision to defect to the APC is a wise choice that was influenced by God Almighty, who has been your political pathfinder, as the APC is a party of the people.”
“It is not an overstatement to state that Osun State is a traditional APC enclave, and any other party that may be occupying a political space in the state is a mere tenant, which will soon be shown the way out of the state.”
“The more, the merrier. Let us work assiduously towards the next series of elections in the state and take back our state from those grossly lacking administrative know-how, as it is being reflected in their actions and inactions on a daily basis.
“We are lucky to have as the leader of the APC in the state a deep thinker and consummate politician, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, a known workaholic who has been making an indelible mark in the new ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.”
“We are not unaware of the inhuman treatment given to you by the minimalist administration of the PDP-run government in the state, whose driver chased you back with metaphorical machetes after you had used your intellectual acumen and financial resources to attain victory for the rudderless ruling party in the last elections.”
“We want to assure you that we are poles apart from those who run the government of exclusivity, favouritism, and vendetta, forgetting that the office of a state governor is a tenured one that is only renewable every four years for a statutory allowance of two terms.”
“It is worthy of commendation that you protect your integrity by blatantly refusing to be part of the government that could not account for the recurring allegation of violation of public procurement law, mismanagement of about N300 billion of revenue accrued to the state in the last 16 months, and diversion of Federal Government food palliatives meant for the state.”
“I am delighted for the fact that we are not just getting anybody but people of substance.”
“Like Baba Shuiabu, he is a veteran member of the PDP, decamping to the APC. It shows that PDP doesn’t exist any longer here. I am confident that in 2026 we are going to take over the state.”
“This is just the beginning because a number of people are willing to come back to us, and a lot of political heavyweights are coming to join us. I welcome Dotun Babayemi and Alhaji Shuiabu Oyedokun to the progressive.”
“I salute your courage for your determination to shun a party whose government has no iota of regard for the rule of law and Obaship institutions in the state.”
“As I am welcoming you into our party, I will not be fair if I fail to remember no fewer than 30 of our members who were slaughtered like rams by the PDP thugs during the last electioneering.”
In his own remark, Oyetola, the immediate past governor of the state, said, “I urged members of the APC to welcome our new members and integrate them into the system without any discrimination.”
“Alhaji A. Shuiabu and Dotun Babayemi were members of the APC in the past; they’ve seen things; they’ve seen the difference between progressive and conservative, and they are back in the party.”
“The welfare of the people and security remain the essence of government, he submitted.
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