Your resolve to opt out of primary mark of unpopularity, Oyetola tells former SSG

THE seeming dust raised by the conduct of the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun appears unsettled as the winner of the exercise, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday said the resolve of the former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Moshood Adeoti to withdraw from the primary was a mark of unpopularity and dearth of support within the ruling party.

Oyetola, who is the Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun had on 20th of July emerged the standard bearer of the APC by polling 127, 017 votes, while Adeoti later defected to the Action Democratic Party (ADP) to clinch the party’s gubernatorial ticket.

But, the flag bearer of the APC in a statement signed by the director general of his campaign organisation, code-named “Ileri Oluwa”, Hon Ajibola Famurewa declared that “the claim that he (Adeoti) is popular within the party came to naught by running away from direct primary which would have allowed all members to make a free choice without being represented.”

Apparently reacting to the views of the Adeoti aired on a private radio station in Osogbo, Oyetola maintained that “were it not that the flag bearer of APC was part of the open and competitive process, the content of the radio interview did not produce news that has changed the narrative of un-sportsmanship behavior exhibited by the onetime party chairman in the course of the primary election.”

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However, while reacting to the position of Oyetola, the media aide of the ADP gubernatorial candidate, Mr Kayode Agbaje averred that “for them to say Adeoti was not popular and that was what made him leave the party, in the past few days, they should ask their principal whether he is feeling comfortable with the mass exodus of the APC leaving the party for the ADP.”

He stated “if the state deputy chairman of the APC could leave the party with nine other members of the State Working Committee (SWC), that speaks volume of the popularity of their own principal in the party and among the masses. If people are leaving the party en masse, that speaks volume of what is happening within the APC.”

“Out of 11 members committee in Oyetola’s ward in Iragbiji, seven of them recently defected to the ADP, that’s to show how popular their candidate is even in his ward. Their own candidate that did not know where to vote during the primary they conducted, that shows how he is well conversant with the political landscape of the state.”

“I don’t know what is uncomplimentary in saying the truth about some individuals.” The truth may not go down well with some individuals who are always antagonistic with the truth. That is their own problems. He (Adeoti) had said it or made his position known and we are comfortable with what he had said”, Agbaje asserted.

But, the statement from Oyetola’s campaign organisation added that “we strongly wish to contend that the process of picking candidate and flag bearers of the All Progressives Congress is well spelt out in the party’s constitution, thus these becomes incredible that the self-acclaimed man-to beat abandoned the ship at deep sea.

“The campaign organization also took an exception to Alhaji Adeoti’s commendation especially on the need to consolidate on the legacies of Aregbesola only to turn round empty on what specifically he would do differently if he ever accidentally seizes power.

“Though not surprised by the public exhibition of incompetence by Alhaji Moshood Adeoti against himself, he was not forthcoming about how he deliberately lobbied all figures both in Lagos and Osun including retired military generals to be appointed the SSG even when the party chairmanship was lucrative and more rewarding to identify party members who had worked assiduously to ensure the victory for Ogbeni Aregbesola at the poll,” the statement concluded.