“We Are Confident Of Reclaiming Osun In 2026” – Omoluabi Chair, Adesiji
The Chairman, Omoluabi Progressives, Alhaji Azeez Adesiji spoke with SODIQ YUSUF on the activities of the tendency in the last one year of its launch, its ongoing membership registration, the 2026 guber in Osun, and sundry issues. Excerpt:
It’s a year since the Omoluabi Progressives was launched. How did you get here?
Omoluabi is a progressive tendency. We looked into what happened after the exit of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and saw that the players then totally eluded the progressive idea. The trend of events showed that the true tenets of progressive politics were not practiced within those of us who call ourselves progressives. This made the core progressives; the people on the side of Ogbeni in the APC assess the situation because the people at the helms of affairs in Osun had totally derailed and we don’t want to be counted among the rotten eggs. That is why we sat down and firstly formed ‘TOP’ to correct them from the route they were going but they refused to change their ways; they thought we were rebels which is far from what we were saying. We wanted the world to see that what they were doing was not right. They refused and that is what led the party to a total collapse. When Ogbeni was going, he left the party intact; he handed over 23 House of Assembly members out of 26, 6 House of Reps members and 2 Senatorial Seats as well as the Governorship of the state to his successor, but everything went to oblivion. We tried to call them to order, but they refused. We were given series of names and that is why we said if they did not listen to us, let us form a caucus that will be going along with what our forefathers in politics did probably they will see reasons and let us come together to forge ahead. It was what led Ogbeni to saying everyone who thinks he wronged him should forgive him and that he has forgiven everyone that offended him and that we should come back together as a one big family. They said that was not the proper way of seeking forgiveness; that he should be crawling at the feet of some of the APC leaders. That was when we formed a caucus within the APC as Omoluabi. We put before them the role played by Awolowo and Bola Ige during their time. We felt that probably will sink into their brain to know that we have to incorporate discipline among ourselves. In his inaugural speech during the launch of Omouabi, Ogbeni made it very clear that we need to initiate ourselves in good character and be upright in whatever we are doing. He added that we should make discipline our core value; when you are disciplined, definitely you will know what to be done, you won’t trample on another person’s feet. That is the foundation of Omoluabi Progressives.
How far have you gone and what is the level of acceptance of Omoluabi across the state?
When we began, we thought we would have the platform to meet them underground in a roundtable discussion. What we saw one day was the suspension of the core members, leaders and the followers of Ogbeni. The suspension was not just an ordinary suspension. It was indefinite equal to an expulsion from the party. I was number 4 on that list. We read everything on the social media. Till this moment, no one has sent for me to ask me any question. What they did negates the constitution of their party because we are no longer members of the APC. With that in mind, we inaugurated coordinators across the 332 wards, selected five people to be coordinating our affairs in all the local government areas. Later on, we thought we needed to be properly coordinated at the state level; that was when we inaugurated a 12-man coordinating team to be steering the affairs of Omoluabi. That was the reason I was made the chairman with 9 representatives from our federal constituencies and two people as admin secretary and organising secretary. We have been working fantastically. We have toured all the federal constituencies of the state. The people of the state have been giving us kudos for forming Omoluabi and we have being receiving blessings from political leaders and other critical stakeholders in the state.
You kick started a membership registration few months ago. How far have you gone and how many people are now on board?
We are the set of people to beat in the state as far as membership is concerned. Although, I cannot categorically give you the figures now, but we have a spread that traverses the nooks and crannies of the state. If you observe very well, a lot of bigwigs from the major political parties in the state have joined us and are still trooping en-masse to our tendency. The beauty of it is that most of the people in our fold are grassroots politicians. They are those who hold the grip of Osun politicians. As we move on, a lot more of these heavyweights are coming to us. They are just waiting for the right time. We are multiplying in numbers every day.
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Some chieftains of the APC describe your tendency as a group of individuals of yesterday seeking relevance. What do you have to say to this?
They are free to say whatever they want to say or whatever they like. They have said it before and bore the consequences. This is not their first time of saying it; they even christened us as “ERURUN AKARA” and we all saw that “ERURUN AKARA” is formidable than the Akara itself. They are entitled to their opinion. If we are seeking relevance or not, time will tell. Let me remind you that the people tagging us as non-relevant were not with us when we fought the then-PDP led by a General. We fought him to a standstill and we were able to achieve success. I told you before that we are core progressives. We are the owners of the party. Let me also add that we are no more a caucus of the APC. We are Omoluabi Progressives.
Now that you are no longer an APC Caucus, are you forming a new party?
Time will tell. Be patient. We are taking our time. We are not a third force in Osun politics. We are the major force.
During the last Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Governor Ademola Adeleke visited your patron, Ogbeni Aregbesola at his Ilesa residence, the word on the street is that there is a possibility of an alliance between Omoluabi and the PDP as we move towards 2026. Is this the situation?
I sat beside Ogbeni during that meeting. The present Governor said he hopes to emulate him (Aregbesola) as he visited all the past governors in the state when he was in office. He said that was one of the reasons why he loved him and wanted to emulate his style. He came to greet us for Salah and nothing of politics is been attached. Anyone saying what is contrary is not correct. The visit was purely in the mood of the celebration. The current President of Nigeria also visited some people at different parts of the country when he was running. He visited Seyi Makinde in Oyo State and Nyesom Wike in Rivers. Are both men APC members? He recently hosted Kwankwaso in Abuja. Does that make Kwankwaso an APC member? Not quite long, Atiku visited Buhari, does that make him an APC politician? When there is Salah, anybody can come to rejoice with someone. Politicians are free to interact. It is a visit to a senior brother and an elder statesman in the state.
You have continued to reemphasise that your tendency will take over from the incumbent administration in Osun in 2026. How confident are you?
God is on our side. We believe when you do the right thing at the right time, God will definitely reward you. We have done it before and we are going to do it again. When there is a will, there is a way. We believe in God and with God, what we always say that we will take over the seat of government in Osun by 2026 is going to come to reality. With God and the people on our side, we will achieve our aim. We are very confident. We have put measures in place to reach the destination and we are not backing out.
Your patron, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has continued to preach the Omoluabi ethos at different fora. What is really behind the Omoluabi concept?
He wants us to be disciplined. He only keeps reminding us that Omoluabi is about doing what is expected of a normal people to do. For donkey years, people are still reechoing what Awolowo and Bola Ige did when they were alive. That is what Ogbeni wants to happen. He wants his name and that of those around him to be written on the platter of gold. The people of Osun have continued to say that Ogbeni did very well when he was the governor of the state and that they want someone who will continue his legacy. People know me that I hate lies and what he says always reminds me of what to be done and what will endear me to the people’s mind. The Yorubas are known for the Omoluabi ethos. We believe that everybody of Yoruba origin are Omoluabi unless you prove otherwise. He is only reminding us of our root.
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What is your message for the people of Osun?
I urge all politically minded residents of Osun to register with Omoluabi Progressives. Our offices are open from 8am to 5pm daily. We are open to everyone who is genuinely interested in the progress of our dear state. Let us all join hands to return a government of the people to power.
