APC Moves To End Aregbesola/Oyetola Feud

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) is confident of finding an amicable resolution to the crisis within the State of Osun Chapter of the party.

This is as the National Reconciliation Committee of the ruling party headed by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, is set to visit the state this Saturday.

The committee is scheduled to meet with the state governor, Gboyega Oyetola, and his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, who is now the Minister of Interior.

Confirming the planned meeting to newsmen, a member of the reconciliation committee claim that invitations have been extended to both Oyetola and Aregbesola, and the committee is confident that both men will turn up for the meeting.

The venue of the meeting was however not disclosed.

The feud between the two men has split the party in the state into two factions with Alhaji Rasak Salinsile heading a faction while Prince Gboyega Famodun is heading the other.

While the governor’s loyalists under the aegis of ‘Ileri Oluwa’ have alleged that Aregbesola wants to assume the position of a godfather over the governor despite not supporting him as APC flagbearer, the minister’s loyalists who are operating under the banner of ‘The Osun Progressives’ (TOP) have claimed that Oyetola is rubbishing all the legacies put in place by Aregbesola in his eight years reign.

The crisis became more pronounced weeks ago when three prominent party leaders in the state; the immediate past deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun Yussuff; former speaker of the State of Osun House of Assembly, Hon Najeem Salam, and former Secretary to the State government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, jointly declared that APC cannot win the 2022 governorship election if it fields Oyetola as a candidate.

The governor, however, said he is not losing sleep over their plans to stop his reelection bid.

Despite the deep and obvious division, the APC reconciliation team member said they are confident that both Oyetola and Aregbesola will sheathe their sword at the end of the meeting.

According to him, “We are heading to Osun on Saturday where we hope to meet Governor Oyetola and Engr. Rauf Aregbesola. We are confident that a truce will be reached at the end of the meeting.

“We are going there in the name of the party leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, and we believe they will respect that.

“Both men (Oyetola and Aregbesola) are also peacemakers and true progressives who want victory for our party in the forthcoming governorship election”.