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Choice of chairmanship candidate polarises Osun APC

Razaq Bamidele

The fragile peace reigning within the Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), after settling of the feud between the former Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his successor, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, appears to be heading for disruption.

Recall that a peace committee headed by the former governor of the state and the first Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief AbdulKareem Adebisi Akande was set up by the party’s leadership to intervene and mediate between the warring combatants.

However, the latest development that looks potent to disrupt the fragile peace again, according to our checks, is the choice of who becomes the next State Chairman of the party since the tenure of the outgoing chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun has expired.

The Nigerian Xpress learnt on a good authority that, while the Ileri Oluwa Camp is said to have shown preference for Famodun to go for another term, the Oranmiyan camp is also reported to have preferred the chairmanship slot moved to another zone, preferably, the West Senatorial Zone.

The Ileri Oluwa camp is believed to be loyal to the sitting governor, Oyetola while the Oranmiyan camp, unarguably belongs to the immediate past governor, Aregbesola.

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Our correspondent learnt that, the outgoing chairman, Famodun, who hails from Igbajo is from the same Osun Central Zone as Governor Oyetola. And the argument of the opposing camp is that, in the spirit of fair play, equity, justice and rotational principle, both the governor and the party chairman should not come from the same senatorial zone.

But the Ileri Oluwa camp counters the Oranmiyan side by reminding it that, there has been a precedence when both the governor and the party chairman hailed from the same senatorial axis.

Citing an example, the Ileri Oluwa camp said Famodun’s predecessor, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi, was not only from the East Senatorial Zone as Aregesola during his first term as governor, they are both from the same town, Ilesha, stressing that, what is good for the goose should also be good for the gander.

When Adebiyi from the East was the state chairman, Famodun from the Central was the State Secretary under him.

Some schools of thought in the party are even of the conviction that the emergence of Oyetola as governor, has rubbished the so called power shift from one zone to another.

 Recall that between 1999 and now, the Central District has produced two governors on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD), which eventually gave birth to the APC in conjunction with other political parties that fused together that produced Oyetola in 2018.

The two governors are Chief Bisi Akande and the sitting governor, Gboyega Oyetola, whereas the West Senatorial zone has been left out of the governorship benefit.

Even, from the side of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who governed between 2003 and 2010, was also from Okuku in the Central Senatorial District. This means that for more than 20 years of the current democratic dispensation, while the Central Zone has produced three governors with the East producing one (Aregbesola), the west has not produced any! 

It is against this backdrop that the Oranmiyan camp is said to be insisting that the chairmanship seat should move to that zone for the sake of justice, equity and fair play.

Our correspondent, however, gathered authoritatively that preference for Famodun to continue goes far beyond following the precedence. According to a source close to the Party Secretariat in Osogbo, it is viewed as a payback time for Famodun for his standing firmly and solidly behind Oyetola like the Rock of Gibraltar during his aspiration to become governor.

A reliable source, who craves anonymity, confided in our correspondent that the Oranmiyan camp prefers the party’s State secretary, Hon. Razaq Salensile to step into Famodun’s shoes. Salensile hails from Iwo in the Western Senatorial District of the state.

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Oranmiyan’s preference for the Western axis of the state, according to our checks, is the belief that, that axis appears being marginalised in the political scheme of things in the party. The camp, our checks revealed would want the party offices distributed round the three Senatorial Districts fairly.

However, probably because of the sensitive nature of the matter, mute was the order of the day by all the chieftains of the party contacted for comments.

A media consultant with one of the outgoing members of the executive, who doesn’t want his name in print simply said, “when we get to the bridge, we would cross it,” urging our correspondent to wait till the party holds its congress which he said, “would come up any time from now.”

With this prevailing scenario, it is crystal clear that, there is a trying time ahead of the party in the state of Osun towards the 2022 governorship election.    

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