KEY TAKEAWAYS
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu summoned 76 Osun APC leaders to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, submitted an intelligence report on party discontent.
- Sources said the report warned that influential Osun APC leaders felt sidelined in party affairs and campaign plans, and the rift could hurt August 15 polls.
- Tinubu urged the leaders to close ranks and back APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, while Osun APC media director, Kola Olabisi, confirmed the meeting happened.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has summoned no fewer than 76 leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid growing concerns over internal discontent ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that the late-night meeting followed an intelligence report submitted by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, which allegedly warned that several influential party leaders in Osun felt sidelined in the running of the party and in the ongoing campaign.
Multiple sources who attended the meeting said Tinubu urged the aggrieved leaders to close ranks and work for the victory of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
A former local government chairman who attended the meeting said Ribadu’s report drew the President’s attention to the level of dissatisfaction within the Osun APC.
“The meeting was at the instance of an intelligence report from the NSA,” the source said.
“I am aware that he told Tinubu that many APC leaders in Osun were not happy and had not been carried along in the party’s affairs, including the ongoing campaign.”
According to the source, the report warned that the situation could hurt the party’s chances if left unresolved.
Tinubu was said to have contacted the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, and instructed him to coordinate affected leaders for the meeting.
Some of the party chieftains reportedly travelled on chartered flights from Ibadan, while others departed from Lagos.
Among those said to have attended were former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Olubunmi Ete, former speakers of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mojeed Alabi, Adejare Bello and Wale Afolabi, as well as Shuaib Oyedokun, Poju Odusola and Bode Olanipekun.
One of the former lawmakers at the meeting described it as a frank session in which party leaders presented their grievances directly to the President.
“We were around 76 in number at the meeting. It was an opportunity for the President to know the truth about what is happening in Osun State,” the source said.
He alleged that several federal appointments allocated to Osun had gone mainly to allies of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and former Osun governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
“We told the President the truth, that the majority of us, the APC leaders, don’t know how the party is being run,” he added.
According to another participant, Tinubu advised the aggrieved members not to allow internal disagreements cost the APC the governorship election.
The President reportedly reminded them that defeat would affect the entire party rather than any individual faction.
He was also said to have expressed disappointment over the APC’s losses in Osun during the 2022 governorship and 2023 general elections.
Quoting Tinubu, one source said the President told the leaders to set aside their grievances and “work for the victory of the party.”
Another attendee said concerns were raised over whether an APC government in Osun would be inclusive if Oyebamiji emerged victorious.
Tinubu reportedly assured the leaders that opportunities existed both at the state and federal levels and urged them to unite behind the party’s candidate.
Efforts to get a response from Basiru were unsuccessful, as calls and messages sent to him were not answered.
However, the Osun APC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Olabisi, confirmed that the meeting took place.
“Yes, I am aware. That is all I can say,” he said.
Other party sources also confirmed that Basiru played a role in coordinating the meeting as part of efforts to resolve internal grievances before the election.
