THE Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun, Hon. Rasak Salinsile, has said that emotional blackmail embarked upon by Adegboyega Oyetola-led IleriOluwa faction of the party will not help the governor to secure second term ticket.
Salinsile called the attention of Osun electorate and other stakeholders to the increased cases of blackmail on Aregbesola and members of The Osun Progressives (TOP) which the Governor’s camp are dishing out in other to gain undue sympathy.
The APC Chairman, in a statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, said in the last few weeks, the party has witnessed frenetic churning out of materials all targeted at maligning Aregbesola and members of the party who are opposed to Oyetola’s destruction of the party in the last three years.
He said: “We wish to call the attention of all stakeholders to the anxieties in the camp of the governor which has pushed them to desperately promote maligning materials in forms of dubious newspaper advertorials, audio and video recordings all laced with emotional blackmail.”
The APC chairman said these are indications of the anxieties within the governor’s camp, noting that the Oyetola camp ought to have shown readiness for genuine reconciliation much earlier.
“Now, the Governor and those manipulating him have suddenly woken up six months to the election to realise they need Aregbesola to win a second term. But people of goodwill must ask this pertinent question: If the Governor and his henchmen had embarked on campaign of calumny and accused Aregbesola of being responsible for Oyetola’s inability to win election at first ballot, why do they need him to lead his re-election campaigns?
“Rather than openly apologising for his poor handling of party affairs and alienation of party stalwarts who worked for his installation as Governor, Oyetola camp has continued open blackmail with ridiculous audio releases that exposed his camp’s poor understanding of the yearnings of the party members and Osun people in general.
“On Monday, January 3, they released an advertorial in The Nation Newspaper titled: Open Letter to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The Osun Calabash Must Not Be Broken” ostensibly to prepare the grounds for their blackmail.
“Calling on Asiwaju to resolve the Osun APC crisis is like calling arsonist to be the fire fighter. He is not far from being the chief promoter of the crisis. But that was to set the tone to blackmail Aregbesola as being unyielding. It is false.
“They have also gone ahead to promote visit by the Osun APC National Assembly members to Tinubu and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. What did they achieve in all of these? Nothing!
“But all these are meant to blackmail Aregbesola into submitting himself to promote Oyetola for a second term. I can tell you that this is not about Aregbesola. It is about the determination of the APC members in Osun to reclaim their party.”
