Barring any last minute change of plans, governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the July 16, 2022 governorship election in Osun State, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi has concluded plans to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
NewsClick Nigeria gathered that plans are in top gear to welcome the insurance magnate into the APC fold.
Ogunbiyi who is the Group Chairman of Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc, contested the governorship primary with Governor Ademola Adeleke in 2018.
He pulled out of the governorship primary in 2022 alleging that he lacked trust in the leadership of the PDP who he accused of perfecting plans to cede the ticket to Adeleke.
Ogunbiyi was said to have returned to the PDP after the 2022 governorship election but the party did not welcome him.
Confirming the development, an APC chieftain in Osun who spoke on condition of anonymity with NewsClick Nigeria said the move is almost a done deal and will soon become public. He said Ogunbiyi was strategising ahead of the next governorship election in the state to give Governor Adeleke a proper challenge.
‘Ogunbiyi’s reported move to APC is authentic. He has been trying to come in for sometime with some vacillation but he seems to be firmly ready now. I think he is banking on the permutations that APC might be conceding the ticket to Osun West in the next election,” the party chieftain said.
Meanwhile, a jingle was earlier released to announce the plan defection of Ogunbiyi revealed that he will join APC alongside his loyalists in his hometown, Ile-Ogbo in Ayedire Local Government.
The jungle voiced in Yoruba states: “We the Idera de group under the supervision of Dr Akin Ogunbiyi on the platform of PDP in Ayedire announcing to the world that we will join APC. The ceremony will hold at Ile-Ogbo market square at 3pm. Our resolve to dump PDP and join the progressives is for the glory and development of Ayedire and Osun state in general. All lovers of progressives are invited.”
