A political group, the Osun Democrats for Democracy, has chided the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, for allegedly disparaging Rauf Aregbesola by failing to recognise him as a former governor and leader of the state chapter of Osun APC.
Basiru, while speaking with journalists in Osogbo, had said that Aregbesola, a former Minister of Interior, could not be recognised as former Osun State governor and leader of the party, because he had never participated in any election in the state since 2022.
The party’s scribe had also declared that the duo of Adebisi Akande and Adegboyega Oyetola are the genuine former governors and bonafide leaders of the party in the state at the moment.
Basiru, who decried the anti-party moves of some people who claimed to be members of the party but worked against it in the last couple of elections and political activities held in the state, recalled the alleged anti-party attitude of Aregbesola and his loyalists in the last governorship, state and National Assemblies elections as well as presidential elections in the state.
But reacting, the group’s Chairman, Abdulmarauf Odunlade, in a statement, yesterday, described the statement by the National Secretary as an embarrassment to Osun State people who voted Rauf Aregbesola twice as governor of the state under the APC.
Odunlade, who warned Basiru against joining the vindictive motion, considering his current office and the importance of a vote in winning an election, said: “Senator Ajibola Basiru owes Osun people an apology, particularly the 394,684 voters who voted for Rauf Aregbesola in the 2014 election under the APC for his statement.
“Basiru served under Aregbesola as Commissioner of Regional Integration and Special Duties during his first term. Later, in the second term, he was appointed as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice for the state. So, he should at least have some respect for the former governor.
“As National Secretary of the APC, Basiru should be concerned about uniting APC and not uttering desultory statements.
