The immediate past Osun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Adebayo Adeleke, has said ex-Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, is currently not a member of the All Progressives Congress.
Adeleke served as a commissioner in the cabinet of ex-governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, who is currently serving as the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
He spoke at the Osun Central Senatorial meeting of the APC held in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
In a video clip of Adeleke’s remarks at the event obtained on Thursday, the APC chieftain said all serious members of the party in the state were aware that Aregbesola was not currently a member of the party.
Aregbesola, who served as Osun State Governor between November 27, 2010 and November 27, 2018, was succeeded by Oyetola, who contested and won 2018 governorship poll in the state on the platform of the APC, defeating Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, the relationship between Aregbesola and Oyetola went sour before the 2022 governorship poll, after the latter declared support for Mr. Moshood Adeoti, who served as Secretary to the State Government during his reign as governor.
Oyetola eventually lost the 2022 poll to Adeleke of the PDP, the development that deepened the crises between him and Aregbesola, and the discord has so far defied all solutions.
Speaking at the meeting attended by the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, and other party bigwigs from the 10 local government areas that made up the senatorial district, Adeleke insisted that the two ex-governors in Osun APC are Chief Bisi Akande and Oyetola.
In the video, Adeleke said, “They said in our party in Osun, we have two former governors, we have Chief Bisi Akande and ex-governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
“Someone asked about ex-governor Rauf Aregbesola, and my response is that all members of the APC know that Aregbesola presently is not a member of our party.”
Efforts to get a reaction to Adeleke’s claim failed, as a response to a message sent to Mr. Sola Fasure, Aregbesola’s media adviser, on the matter, was still being expected as of the time of filing this report.
