Post-election crisis tears Osun APC apart

The defeat of the All Progressives Congress in the August 15 Osun governorship election has exposed deep divisions within the party, with its leaders trading blame over what went wrong, Ismaeel Uthman writes

The August 15 governorship election defeat has plunged the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress into a fresh crisis, with party leaders and supporters trading accusations over who should take responsibility for the loss.

Since Governor Ademola Adeleke was declared winner of the election, after polling  511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815, the battle for blame has spilled onto social media and the pages of national newspapers, with supporters of opposing camps accusing one another of sabotaging the party’s chances.

While some party members are seeking the removal of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, as the leader of the APC in Osun, accusing him of contributing to the party’s defeat, supporters of the former governor have hit back, blaming the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, and his predecessor, Iyiola Omisore, for working against the party’s interest for their 2030 governorship ambitions.

The blame game

Those who blamed Oyetola said the imposition of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, on the party was a major flaw in Oyetola’s leadership.

The critics also cited “lopsided” federal appointments and the facilitation of national and state assembly tickets favouring only the minister’s tendency.

Besides, the critics lamented that the people’s resentment towards Oyetola also affected the party’s poor performance at the election, despite the billions of naira spent on the poll.

But apart from his background role, Oyetola did not openly campaign for Oyebamiji. His abstinence from the campaign was part of the strategy to disconnect Oyebamiji’s candidature from the minister, according to some officials of the party.

However, Oyetola’s loyalists, including the Executive Director, Marine and Operations of the Nigerian Port Authority, Olalekan Badmus, hailed Oyetola’s leadership, saying that he had held the party together and funded it to achieve victory.

According to them, those criticising Oyetola and calling for his head because of the party’s loss were hypocrites and saboteurs who worked against the party during the election.

A stalwart of the APC, Kayode Oduwoye, described Oyetola as the only man who had the capacity to lead the party.

He called for unity and sincerity of purpose by the party members, saying no individual could single-handedly deliver victory for the party.

Oduwoye, popularly called Superkay, said, “I don’t find any genuineness in any allegation brought against a man who has sacrificed almost everything to ensure that the party is stable, formidable, and enjoys the support of the masses.

“If leadership is about sacrifice, and the man is sacrificing all, what else do you want? Who has the kind of capacity and the proficiency of leadership like him (Oyetola) amongst us? There’s no other person within the ranks of leadership that will have the kind of capacity, ability, network, and the goodwill that our party in Osun needs to take the APC to the next greater level. We need unity and sincerity of purpose to win election.”

Omisore, Basiru shun Oyetola meeting

The recriminations have now moved beyond accusations over the election, with the absence of several prominent party leaders from Oyetola’s August 29 stakeholders’ meeting further exposing the divisions within the party.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that Basiru, Omisore, ex-deputy governors of the state, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Ponle and Benedict Alabi, and two former speakers of the Osun State House of Assembly, Prof Mojeed Alabi and Adejare Bello, were absent at the meeting, which was expected to provide an opportunity for party leaders to deliberate on the state of the party and its political direction.

Also, the APC chairman in the state, Tajudeen Lawal, a former deputy speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Akintunde Adegboyega, and the APC Osun Central Senatorial leader, Adeoye Adelakun, did not attend the meeting.

However, the APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said there was no crisis in the party.

Olabisi said the party was united, explaining that the invite for the stakeholders’ meeting boycotted by Basiru, Omisore and others was short and might have been the reason for their non-attendance.

“There is no crisis in our party, the election has come and gone and we remain united. The notice for the stakeholders meeting was very short, so that must have been the reason for those people absence,” he said.

Disputed petition deepens APC crisis

A purported petition against Adeleke’s victory, supposedly by the APC, also indicated the extent of the disagreement within the party.

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Sunday PUNCH gathered that the petition, signed by Oyebamiji’s running mate, Benjamin Adereti, and filed by an Osogbo-based lawyer, Seyi Oyagbile, was submitted at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, High Court Complex, Osogbo, around 11am on August 5.

The petition came into public knowledge after it was listed on Monday alongside another purported petition by the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Adebayo Adedamola. The petitions were pasted on the notice board of the tribunal secretariat to formally commence the process of hearing disputes arising from the August 15 poll. APC eventually withdrew its petition on Tuesday after outrage.

Sources among the APC officials informed Sunday PUNCH that Adereti flew to the country from Canada on August 4 for the purpose of submitting the petition.

But the APC legal team and the party’s candidate, Oyebamiji, distanced themselves from the petition, saying that they did not authorise it and were not interested in challenging Adeleke’s victory.

A member of the APC legal team who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity said, “We’re not interested in challenging Adeleke’s victory because it is the process would be a distraction for us.

“We have elections in less than six months and some of the lawyers who will lead the legal battle will be involved in campaign activities. Somebody like Kunle Adegoke, SAN, who will lead the team, is our candidate for Osun Central Senatorial District. How do you want him to be campaign for his election and attending to court at the same time.

However, Oyagbile, the lawyer who filed the petition, said APC leaders in the state were involved and approved the petition.

“That the APC is not aware of the petition is a lie. I have the chat of so many functionaries of the party who spoke with me on the petition. The party chairman and secretary and I discussed it. Even, some of those who denied the petition discussed with me before I filed.

“Why would the party leaders distance themselves from the petition when their deputy governorship candidate who is a joint ticket holder signed the petition at the tribunal in front of the officials.

“Those who denied petition are not official of the party, and which law states that the APC deputy governorship candidate must obtain permission from the legal team before filing a process? Who law states that I must seek permission from the legal team before I handle a brief?”

Asked if the petition was done with Oyebamiji’s consent, Oyagbile responded that he did not know.

“It was there inhouse thing. Mine was that a person with locus signed the petition and that was enough for me. But in the cause of discussion, I was told Oyebamiji was not available.”

An official of the APC knowledgeable about the process disclosed that many of the party leaders were involved in the petition.

“We have 21 days legal allowance to file the petition. But it was apparent that the so-called legal team of the APC, led by Olayoonu, were not interested in filing any petition, they claimed there was ‘no cause of action.’ They believed in the old ways of filing petition, but a young lawyer saw discrepancies in the INEC results, so he sold the idea to party leadership.

“Some of the party leaders saw merit in his case and directed him to liaise with the chairman of the legal committee, who is Layoonu. Layoonu gave his blessing to the young lawyer and he was carrying the SAN along in all the steps he was taken. But Layoonu denied the process after the young lawyer filed the petition and controversies arrived.”

“Oyebamiji’s running mate, Adereti was already in Canada for a programme, but he was asked to come back immediately to sign the petition on Saturday. Oyebamiji was on lesser hajj, so he couldn’t come. But before Adereti signed the petition, he called Oyebamiji more than 15 times but he didn’t pick the calls, so he went ahead to sign the petition so as to avoid being blamed that he forfeiting the time frame to file the petition. The APC Chairman and Secretary were also involved. It was surprising that all of them denied it.”

When contacted on Tuesday, the APC Secretary, Alao Kamoru, said the party would make an official comment on the matter.

“The state working committee of the party are meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) to take a decisive decision on the matter and our comment will be made known,” he said reluctantly.

Kamoru eventually sent a message on Thursday, saying, “The petition had been withdrawn yesterday (Wednesday) and ready to be struck out by the tribunal. Thanks.”

The state APC Chairman could not be reached on the phone as calls to his phone number were not connecting, just as messages also failed to deliver to his phone.

Efforts by Sunday PUNCH to confirm from Adereti if he informed Oyebamiji before signing the petition were unsuccessful. Calls and messages sent to his phone numbers were not responded to.

Olabisi also declined to comment on the petition, saying, “It is outside my purview to speak on that. You can reach out to the legal team. I’m not competent to speak on it.”

However, Layoonu neither denied nor confirmed his alleged involvement in the matter. Instead, he requested an official comment or mentioning of his name from the lawyer who filed the petition.

“As far as I am concerned, it is a rested matter. Was it Oyagbile who told you that? I cannot go by speculation as a lawyer. Let Oyagbile come on air, interview him and let him say so, then I will respond,” he said.

Also distancing himself from the petition, a human rights lawyer, Alfred Adegoke, said, “It is an error. It is an error; I am not part of their lawyers. I have spoken with the lawyer who signed the petition, and he said he made an error and he apologised to me. I am not a counsel to the APC.”

With accusations flying between rival camps and the disputed petition exposing further disagreements among the party’s leaders, the APC faces the task of resolving its internal differences before they undermine its preparations for future elections.