Osun State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected Governor Ademola Adeleke from defecting to the party, describing him and his party as liabilities.
The party in a statement issued and signed by the State Chairman of the party, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, copy of which was made available to newsmen
The party criticized he leadership caucus of PDP for being economical with the truth on the reason why the APC actually rejected Governor Adeleke from defecting to the party.
In a statement signed by its chairman, the party clarified that Governor Ademola Adeleke was rejected from defecting to the party because he was identified as a big baggage and liability that would hurt the integrity of the APC.
It was fear of impending defeat by Governor Adeleke that motivated him to seek assylum in APC, the party said in the statement.
The Osun State PDP Leadership Caucus had decried the resistance against the planned defection of Governor Adeleke to the APC.
Sooko Lawal said that it was the fear of the impending 2026 election defeat that motivated the governor to desperately seek in our party an asylum for his political survival in 2026, are excited about the measured treatment meted to the Osun State governor and his desperate party men.
According to him,the Osun PDP has been abandoned by decent politicians on the ground of bad performance.
It said:”From 2023 when the party began to morally emaciate and became a war loot of the Adeleke dynasty, bright minds and people with good names to protect, who could not tolerate the deceit, shenanigans and high-levelled corruption and brigandage the Adeleke government represents, daily troop out from the tattered umbrella into our party, thus leaving the PDP with carcasses and political dregs with no structure and hope to retain power in future elections.
“Therefore, the self adulation of the PDP caucus that it remains the most popular party in Osun State is merely self-consolatory as the claim could not be substantiated with facts.
“Did the caucus aggregate the opinion of the parents and students of the University of Ilesa, where students are charged N1.5 million per session, before arriving at its claim?
“Did the caucus seek the opinion of the Osun State public who are angry that Governor Adeleke devoted N13 billion to purchase luxury cars for his aides and unproductive politicians without buying a single bus to ease the public transport in the state?
“Of course, the claim of the PDP caucus does not align with the position of the over 32,000 job applicants who were duped by the state government under the pretext of offering them teaching employments.
“Those who knew Governor Adeleke is running from the wrath of the Osun State electorate, after mismanaging close to N1 trillion in 30 months of his administration and is only looking for a cover in the APC to escape the people’s anger at the poll in 2026, are the ones who rejected his repugnant overtures and deceptive proposal to join the APC.
“A political party is a free-exit-free-entry arrangement, therefore, everyone is welcome. However, in a situation where an entry is suspected to tarnish the image of the party and create a public perception crisis for it, the party is at will to foreclose such a destructive entry as it was the case in the instance of Adeleke’s attempt to smuggle himself into our party.
“Would the caucus have expected the stakeholders in the APC to welcome with open arm characters under whose hands no fewer than 30 members of the APC were slaughtered and bludgeoned to death for no other reason than for supporting the candidature of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to become the country’s President in 2023?
“Would the caucus have expected the APC to give free entry to those who are still answering to the murder charge of a leading campaigner of Tinubu re-election bid and Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Honourable Remi Abass, who was killed just five months ago in the premises of Irewole Local Government Council?
“Would the caucus in all conscience expect the APC to welcome into its fold characters under the investigations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for funneling into their private accounts local government allocations meant for the people’s good?
“Those who rejected the defection of Adeleke to the APC knew the intention was deceptive and was solely because of the troubled re-election bid of the governor having regard that the same PDP is daily recruiting canvassers and opinion moulders to tarnish the image of President Tinubu on the radio and television in the state while he is all over Abuja pretending to be friends of the President.”
