Osun election result: Aregbesola’s loyalists protest, call for APC restructuring

…Party chair condemns protest, say caucus worked against Oyetola’s success

Blessing Akorowosi, Osogbo

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, on Tuesday trooped out in large numbers expressing displeasure over the loss of the party in the July 16 governorship election.

The protesters who are loyalists of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola were sighted on the streets of Osogbo, the state capital, calling for the restructuring of APC.

They also accused the APC State Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun of mismanagement of the party and its electoral defeat calling for his removal.

The protesters had placards with inscriptions such as– “Osun APC Needs Restructuring, Famodun Must Go, Save Osun APC From Total Collapse, Sack Famodun, Aregbesola Is The Soul Of APC/Progressive Politics In Osun, There Is No Life In Osun APC Again!, 2023: Asiwaju May Lose Osun With Famodun As APC Chairman.

The APC members from all the 30 local government areas in the state walked through Odi-Olowo, Olaiya, Ogo-Oluwa in Osogbo amidst heavily armed security operatives to deliver a letter to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye.

Addressing newsmen and members of the public at different locations, their spokesperson, Comrade Abosede Oluwaseun, said the party needs to be restructured from unit, ward, local government and state level for it to be united and formidable ahead of the coming general elections.

Oluwaseun said, “With conscious, sincere and objective analysis of the outcome of the governorship election, we discovered that the electoral loss is not only self-induced by the party’s administrators, it also reflects party issues which had been raised by concerned minds in the recent past.

“The party issues, which are unattended to till the present moment, regrettably cost our party the electoral victory and as concerned progressives, we felt the necessity to inform you that it is not safe to approach the 2023 general elections with same paper-tiger party under the leadership of Prince Gboyega Famodun, the State Chairman of the APC in Osun State.

“In order to address this emergent clear and present danger, we unequivocally make the following demands: The dissolution of all party structures from the unit to the state level.

“The setting up of an independent caretaker committee to oversee the restructuring of the party and turn it into an election winning machine again; Composition of an all-inclusive party executive structures from wards to state level within 90 days; and the redistribution of the state and federal legislative tickets in an all-inclusive manner to reflect true membership structure and tendencies.

“This in our humble opinion is the way forward from the logjam we found ourselves in the APC and unless we urgently take these steps, we stand the grave risk of suffering worse consequences in the coming elections.”

In his response, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, assured the party members of necessary steps to make the party united and formidable.

“I want to assure you of a fact that every necessary step to be taken for our party to be united and formidable to continue to rule and win future elections would be taken,” Owoeye said.

However, Prince Famodun has reacted to the protest, describing it as shameful, wicked and selfish.

In a statement by his Media Adviser, Kola Olabisi, Aregbesola’s supporters were accused of working against the success of Governor Oyetola at the polls and are now canvassing for the restructuring of the party.

Famodun said, “Assuming but not conceding that there are challenges within the party, protesters should be told that they lack moral right to either suggest or effect any likely solution as it is on record that they massively and collectively worked against Oyetola, the APC governorship candidate in the just-concluded election in line with the series of their threat.

“One would have thought that the appropriate place for them to canvass for the restructuring of any party is Senator Ademola Adeleke’s Ede country home whom they voted for with flaunted pride.

“If I may ask, at what point did it occur to you that the political party that you had abandoned for about three years which you have been working against needs restructuring?

“Since politics is a game of number and the more the merrier; continuous membership of our party is not foreclosed to any genuine member whose interest would not be counter-productive to the interest of our party as you cannot be an outsider and be canvassing for the restructure of the party.

call for APC restructuring Osun election result: Aregbesola's loyalists protest