Cecilia Oluyori
These are not the best of times for Osun APC.
Why? The party has suffered most in the state with gale of defections that has hit it across board.
The ranks and file of the Osun APC keeps dwindling on a daily basis, as there are strong indications, according to multiple sources who confided in newsclickng.com in the last 72hours that many more defections will hit the party in the days ahead.
Digs by this newspaper indicate that in the days ahead, over a dozen current members of the State House of Assembly will defect to Action Democratic Party (ADP)
The gale of defection which has characterized the party, started with the exit of the immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti who led thousands of his foot soldiers away from All Progressive Congress (APC) into Action Democratic Party (ADP).
Adeoti, popularly called Shehu by his admirers, was until his resignation from APC and the cabinet of Aregbesola, a stalwart of the party and indeed, had vied to become Governor, but withdrew on the eve of the June 20 gubernatorial primaries alleging that the process was skewed to favour the eventual winner, Gboyega Oyetola, the current Chief of Staff to Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Several of his supporters had followed suit – jumping ship – while many are retained in APC to play the spoiler during the September 22 polls.
Meanwhile, last week Monday, August 6 mass defection of over 10-members of the APC State Working Committee, led by the former Vice-Chairman, Azeez Adesiji with over 6,208 supporters newsclickng.com learnt, seems to have rattled the APC and has set the tone for APC to react and halt the trend.
Consequently, the State Governor and leader of APC in Osun, Rauf Aregbesola an impeccable source confided in this newspaper yesterday Wednesday August 8, met with all APC ward and Local Government Chairmen in the states and appeal to them to work for the party’s victory at the September poll, promising that he would do all in his power to provide the required logistics to make mobilization easier for the leaders.
“In his meeting with us the Governor acknowledged the challenges occasioned by the gale of defection and begged us. He said the leaders of the party are the ones backing Adeoti therefore making reconciliation almost an impossible task, even as tasked us to go back and start mobilization for the poll”, of the Chairmen who attended the meeting squealed to this newspapers.
The September 22 Osun gubernatorial poll presents a very interesting challenge that is too close to call and pundits are still gauging the mood of the electorates and the political current and not sure who will emerge victorious of the four leading political parties who parade four political juggernauts as their flag bearers.
While APC has Gboyega Oyetola as its flagbearer, PDP parades Senator Ademola Adeleke; while Social Democratic Party (SDP) has Iyiola Omisore as its guber candidate and Alhaji Moshood Adeoti representing ADP at the polls.
