Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijesaland have once again confirmed their support for the leadership of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. According to Johnson Ajilore, who spoke on behalf of other Ijesa APC leaders at a press conference held at the Ilesa-East APC Secretariat in Ilesa on Friday, Oyetola remains the party leader in Osun State.
Ajilore emphasized that the former governor enjoys this privilege under the provisions of the party’s constitution. He also mentioned that the party leadership in Ijesa-South Federal Constituency has endorsed the “Repositioning Committee” set up by Oyetola to help get the party on the path to success.
Although both Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Iyiola Omisore are known to be leaders of the party at the national level, the party members are clear that Oyetola leads the party in the state. “We have looked into various and peculiar tendencies that led to the very poor performances of the party and felt terribly worried that despite the outstanding performances of our leader, and the immediate past governor of the state, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, we lost virtually in all state constituencies except in Boripe local government,” Ajilore said.
He went on to acknowledge the exemplary leadership of Oyetola, the strength of his unequalled achievements while in office as governor, and his shrewd politics rooted in the depth of his passion to redefine the vision of the APC, as well as reposition the party for excellence.
Despite the affirmation of Oyetola’s leadership role, the purported rivalry between former governors Rauf Aregbesola and Adegboyega Oyetola has split the Osun APC in the run-up to the 2022 Osun gubernatorial election. The Osun APC has been divided into two factions, with the IleriOluwa group aligning with Oyetola and The Osun Progressives (TOP) aligning with Aregbesola, who is currently the Minister of Interior.
Many political analysts believe that the party’s poor performance in the 2022 governorship election and the 2023 general elections in Osun are the result of this issue. Nonetheless, the Ijesaland APC leaders have shown that they are committed to the leadership of Oyetola and believe he can help steer the party back to glory in the state.
