The immediate past Governor of Ogun state, and the Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial zone of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has denied an allegation of fuelling the All Progressives Congress, APC crisis in Oyo State.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun in a statement released on Tuesday 19th October 2021, by Bola Adeyemi his Media Aide, denied the APC crisis in Oyo saying that he would rather advise members of the APC in Oyo State to find a way to resolve their differences rather than engaging in name dropping.
The full statement of him denying his alleged involvement in the APC crisis in Oyo state reads:
“The attention of Senator Ibikunle Amosun has been drawn to a publication in your newspaper, The Guardian Newspaper edition of Tuesday October 19, 2021 in the story entitled “Aregbesola’s Camp drags Buni, others to court over APC Congress”, with the rider Stakeholders finger Amosun in cracks in Oyo APC, other states
I hereby state categorically that the story is false in its entirety. Senator Amosun, like every other politician of his status, has friends and associates in all parts of Nigeria and such politicians cut across party lines. This does not translate to him interfering in the domestic internal affairs of the political parties they belong to and in the states they come from.
It remains unthinkable why Senator Amosun’s name is being dragged into a matter which he knows nothing about. Senator Amosun will rather advise members of the APC in Oyo State to find a way to resolve their differences rather than engaging in name dropping.
For the records, Senator Amosun is not involved in the politics of APC in Oyo State or the politics of other parties in Oyo or any State in Nigeria.
We call on the media to please fact check political allegations to establish their veracity before publication in their media outlets,” the statement added.
APC Crisis In Oyo State: What Was Reported?
The statement from Amosun is coming a few days after the United Front (TUF), a group within the Oyo State chapter of APC alleged that the Senator was fuelling crisis in the Oyo State chapter of the party.
The group alleged that Amosun is working hard to hijack the party’s structure in Oyo.
TUF in their statement on Sunday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the party to intervene and stop Amosun from causing more crises in the party.
The group had accused Amosun of sponsoring members of the Unity Forum in the state, which include Prof. Adeolu Akande, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, Bayo Shittu, Dr. Ismail Adewusi to divide the party.
“Amosun takes absolute delight in the fragmentation of Oyo APC for the purpose of extending the web of schism he established in Ogun APC to other parts of the South-West.
His divisive ego-trip in Oyo State can be traced to the build-up to the 2019 elections when he extensively bankrolled Unity Forum to tear the fabrics of the party’s wholeness apart – a move that triggered the inevitable lacklustre performance of the party in the gubernatorial polls.
“When Oyo APC restricted his petulant kicks aimed at opening cracks in the party’s leadership, Amosun later established a strong foothold in the ADC along with his bedfellows in the Unity Forum to scuttle the chances of his own party. It is on record that he channelled a large junk of Ogun State resources to finance the mobilisation and campaigns of ADC candidate, Senator Femi Lanlehin. However, his dream to glide ADC to power was built on illusionary hopes, as the party fell flat in the senatorial election which made Amosun’s camp to become completely rattled. With no other options up his sleeves, he lent formidable support to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Engr Seyi Makinde,” the statement reads in part.
The group also alleged that Amosun had given out a huge amount of money to Unity Forum to allow them to take over the party.
It said, “Recently Amosun’s political hatchet men have returned to the drawing board with a view to sowing seeds of discord among the age-long party faithful. It has been revealed that the former governor has released up to 200Million Naira to the likes of Prof. Adeolu Akande, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, Barr. Shittu, Senator Ayo Adeseun, and Dr. Ismail Adewusi with a mandate to either take over the party structure in the state or cause endless crises that will mar the chances of the party in the 2023 elections.”
The group while recalling the role played by the former governor during the 2019 general elections in Ogun State said, “Amosun has consistently shown, with his divisive inclination and high-handedness that he lacks the requisites expected of managing a party even at the ward level. We can’t forget in a hurry how he almost succeeded in running Ogun APC into a state of inoperable rigidity, as he openly backed Adekunle Akinlade of APM in the 2019 gubernatorial polls. His eyes are kept on devising the same template in Oyo State.
“We hereby appeal to our revered leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and all esteemed leaders of APC in the South-West to look critically into all contentious issues in Oyo APC and prioritise oneness of all party members. Oyo APC might start swinging in a downward spiral unless the likes of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Prof. Adeolu Akande, Barr. Bayo Shittu, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, Dr. Adewusi, Sen. Adeseun, Senator Akanbi and other divisive elements are made to sit out of the party’s affairs.”
The group also urged the APC CECPC to investigate the alleged forgery of sensitive documents by some party chieftains in Oyo State, which led to the postponement of the October 16 state congress in the state.
“APC CECPC must investigate the matter with a view to bringing the erring members of the party to book. Punishment of the fraudulent members will serve as a deterrent,” the statement concluded.