By Sodiq Yusuf
NIGERIA’S Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is not the founder of ‘The Osun Progressives’ (TOP), a caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun.
Aregbesola’s Media Adviser, Mr. Sola Fasure, stated this while featuring on Gold FM’s current affairs programme in Ilesa, on Tuesday.
According to Fasure, TOP was founded by individuals and stakeholders within the APC, stating that his principal is not part of the people that established the group.
Fasure said freedom of association is fundamental and constitutional, which is the basis of democratic process.
He said members of TOP have strong enough reasons to form an association within the APC.
Fasure clarified that TOP members made Aregbesola the Chairman of its Board of Trustees, charging party leaders to work towards the unity of the APC to record success in forthcoming elections in the state.
He said, “We are in democratic system. Politics is not a do-or-die affair. But what we need at this moment is party cohesion. We can have unity in diversity within the party.
“There are various tendencies within APC and those tendencies still exist. The President came from Congress of Progressive Change and that tendency is still there. There is new PDP and our own tendency is the ACN. All these tendencies are still there, but we are all united for the success of the party in elections.
“I believe that our leaders will work towards of the greater unity of the party.
“Aregbesola did not found The Osun Progressives. They are individuals who feel they have strong enough reason to form an association within the party and Aregbesola was made the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and he accepted and gave the support.
“The group made their position very clear; they said that the Alliance for Democracy AD, at a point, because of the absence of internal democracy and discontent among party members m lost the Governorship Elections in 2003 to the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The progressive party is in power for the third consecutive term in Osun and TOP members fear that the APC is also going the way of AD and they have moral duty to actually stop that breach, so that APC will not go the same way of AD.”
Reacting to the destruction of a billboard erected by the Caretaker Secretary of the APC, Hon Rasaq Salinsile, to congratulate Aregbesola on his 64th birthday in Osogbo, Fasure said it is unfortunate that some people could carry out such attack on mere billboard.
He said the destruction of the billboard was obviously carried out by hoodlums, adding that the law enforcement agencies have started investigations into the matter.
Fasure said: “The destruction is the work of hoodlums. Whoever does that automatically carries tag of a hoodlum. I believe law enforcement agencies are working to get to the root of the matter. It is act of vandalism.
