Over the weekend, it was truly disheartening to read in the Sunday Vanguard the disturbing revelations from a secret meeting allegedly held at Ileri Oluwa House by a group of the All Progressives Congress (APC), reportedly at the instance of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola.
According to the report, the central focus of the meeting was to devise strategies to reclaim power in the 2026 in Osun State and 2027 general Election.Shockingly, one of the so-called "winning strategies" was said to be the continued withholding of Osun State’s local government allocations by the Federal Government. The cruel intention behind this was to deepen hardship at the grassroots level, disrupt basic services, and incite public frustration against the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
More troubling were the comments attributed to Alhaji Oyetola during the meeting. He was reported to have blamed the APC's defeat in 2022 on former President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to pressure INEC and security agencies to favor the APC. He allegedly expressed confidence that things would be different this time, boasting of misleading President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into believing that the APC could win Osun without Adeleke. He was quoted saying that victory must be achieved “by force.”
He reportedly went further to justify the continued withholding of local government funds as a tactic to cripple the Adeleke administration. Despite the Appeal Court’s ruling in favor of the state government, Alhaji Oyetola allegedly vowed to block access to funds intended for essential services, teachers' salaries, healthcare, pensions, and even traditional institutions until they could be diverted to the sacked "Yes/No" chairmen, whom he hurriedly installed after his electoral loss in 2022.
It is worth recalling that Alhaji Oyetola conducted a hasty and widely criticized local government election barely 60 days after losing the governorship an exercise that clearly violated the 360-day notice required by the 2022 Electoral Act (as amended). Many saw it as a desperate bid to cling to influence at the grassroots, even after the people had rejected him at the polls.
Now, as the good people of Osun grapple with the consequences of this orchestrated hardship, one question rings loudly from every corner of the state, from classrooms and markets to hospitals and palaces:
What offense have we committed to deserve this level of vindictive punishment from Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola because of his influence on President Nola Ahmed?
Let it be known: the people of Osun have already made their choice. Twice, they rejected the APC and its brand of governance, one that offered little development and left behind the burden of 30 months of half salaries. The era of manipulation and forceful rule is over.
Osun deserves better. Her people deserve peace, prosperity, and leadership rooted in compassion, not one that weaponizes poverty and uses power to settle political scores.
Signed.
Apesin Abiodun Adegoke
Cordinator, Concerned Citizens of Osun State
29/07/2025
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