Former Osun Central Senator, Prof Olusola Adeyeye, has spoken about the close political relationship that once existed between President Bola Tinubu and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
Adeyeye said the former allies shared an unusually strong bond before disagreements eventually drove them apart.
The former lawmaker made this known during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday.
When asked whether Tinubu misses having Aregbesola in his political circle, Adeyeye said the President might not openly acknowledge it but believes he does.
“I don’t think he (Tinubu) will admit it, but I am sure he does. I say this because I don’t know anyone who loved Asiwaju as much as Rauf did, and I don’t know anyone who would go to any extent for Rauf as Asiwaju did. That is the truth.
“They were intended for each other. As a rule, nobody told me this. When I came back from the US, I had had a relationship with Asiwaju while he was in exile.
“When I came back, I saw that this magnitude of relationship was such that I told myself I would never go outside of Rauf to see Asiwaju because I didn’t want Rauf to be threatened by me. I also didn’t want Asiwaju to think that I was trying to undermine Rauf.”
Adeyeye, who served in the Senate while Aregbesola was governor of Osun, also described how closely he worked with the former governor during that period.
“In fact, whatever I did as a Senator, Rauf knew. I took his permission for many things. And I will say this, Rauf is now in the ADC as secretary and guess who the chairman is – David Mark. I know the two of them. I also know how Rauf felt about David Mark and how Mark felt about Rauf in those years.
“I knew when 17 out of 18 South-West senators rejected a nominee for a ministerial appointment and how Mark ensured that the same nominee was passed contrary to the convention. I was in the Senate.
“So if Rauf and Mark are now the best of political allies, that’s what life brings. Politics makes strange bedfellows,” he stated.
Aregbesola currently serves as the National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, while former Senate President David Mark is the party’s National Chairman.
Adeyeye further disclosed that he had previously attempted to repair the relationship between Tinubu and Aregbesola.
“I had done my best to resolve whatever crisis of confidence that had arisen between the two people. I have never heard anybody in politics who has a higher esteem for the man who is now our President than Rauf Aregbesola. He loved him.
“In fact, as far as Rauf is concerned, the only person who takes precedence over him is God himself. But the Yoruba also say that 20 children do not play for 20 years. Things do happen in life; friends part, sometimes they come back again.”
Aregbesola’s political association with Tinubu dates back to his time in Lagos, where he served as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure under Tinubu’s administration.
He later emerged as the APC governorship candidate in Osun and became governor in 2010 after years of legal challenges over the election.
The relationship between the two politicians later became strained following disagreements over political affairs in Osun, including the issue of Aregbesola’s successor.
Tinubu backed Gboyega Oyetola, Aregbesola’s former Chief of Staff, during the 2018 governorship election.
Their differences persisted into the 2022 election, with Aregbesola and his supporters becoming increasingly distant from the APC structure in Osun.
Aregbesola subsequently moved to the ADC, where he now serves as national secretary, as the party prepares for the 2027 general elections.
