The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, may be battling with fresh wave of crisis, as The Osun Progressives, TOP, a caucus within the ruling APC, as it has settled for former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Moshood Adeoti, as it’s aspirant for the forthcoming Osun State APC gubernatorial primary election, scheduled for February 19.
Sources disclosed that TOP favoured Adeoti to contest for the party’s governorship ticket with Governor Gboyega Oyetola, after a rigorous selection process, which featured the former SSG, the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Lasun Yussuff and a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Najeem Salam.
Recall that Adeoti, Yussuff and Salam had expressed their readiness to work together to rescue the party from what they described as imminent electoral defeat.
Recall that recently, while speaking at a special meeting of TOP, a caucus of the party loyal to the Minister of the Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the trio, who also contested with Oyetola for the party’s ticket in 2018, declared that the APC cannot win the 2022 governorship election if it fields the incumbent governor.
The secretary of TOP, Lani Baderinwa, a former Commissioner of Information in the state, confirmed that the group picked Adeoti because he is well tutored politically and he is from the Osun West senatorial district.
Baderinwa said that Adeoti emerged from among the three aspirants who were with the group after a rigorous selection process, adding that Yussuff, who had obtained governorship form and submitted, wouldn’t be contesting the party ticket as an aspirant of TOP.
He said, ”After rigorous selection process, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti emerged from amongst the three aspirants who are with us. So, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti is our choice and we are confident he will win a fair and free contest.
“Adeoti is a grassroot politician. He is a party man to the core. He is well tutored politically. He is from the West senatorial district that has suffered untold marginalisation in the governance of Osun since creation. He is bold and courageous. He could be very loyal and resilient. He may have his personal foibles, like all humans, but his positive attributes outweigh his negativity.”
Asked if the group will hold a separate primary election, Adelani said, “No. There can only be one primary election to be conducted by the National Secretariat and we are participating. We hope the National Secretariat will provide level playing ground for all aspirants. This is key to the essence of the exercise.”
Meanwhile, feelers from the caucus have revealed that Adeoti’s choice has been generating rancour within it as Salaam, reportedly, has not been happy for not being given the governorship form.
Yussuff, on the other hand, was said to have distanced himself from TOP and has decided to struggle for the party’s ticket on his own.
