‘Oyetola betrayed us’ - Aregbesola hints Osun people’s next political interest

The former governor of Osun State and former minister of interior, Rauf Aregbesola has claimed that his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, “betrayed him and his loyalists.”

Aregbesola spoke over the weekend during the end-of-the-year thanksgiving organised by his loyalists in Ilesa, Osun state.

The former minister said he will soon announce his next political move to the people of Osun.

His words: “We did our own eight years in office and by the grace of God, we handed over power to the person who we felt would meet our interests and that of the party.

“But he betrayed us and the party. Those who are not patient and not in Osun began to say rubbish about the matter.

“I did not ask for money, positions, or acceptance of my counsel. I only asked that the party should not be destroyed.

“From the smallest of them to the biggest, I did not have any form of disagreement with them.

“Despite this, they went publicly to say rubbish about me.”

On attempt at reconciliation before the election, he said agreements reached at a meeting were ignored.

Aregbedola said: “During the meeting, it was agreed that they would give our own faction one-third while they take two-thirds of the positions in the next administration after the 2022 election.

“We did not hear anything again about the agreement.

“On OSBC, their leader of governorship campaign said that anybody who was not invited should not come for the campaign.

“As a bonafide Yoruba man, I stayed away. No bonafide Yoruba person would hear that comment and go to where he was not invited.

“By the grace of God, by this time in 2024, I would have declared where we are heading to and it will be clear to everyone where Osun people are heading to.”

In the beginning…

Recall that Aregbesola served as the governor of Osun between 2010 and 2018. He was succeeded by Oyetola, who served from 2018 to 2022.

Aregbesola then played a key role in the emergence of Oyetola as the governor of Osun during the 2018 governorship election.

However, in the build-up to the 2022 Osun governorship poll, the relationship between Aregbesola and Oyetola turned sour.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun state was divided into two factions as a result of the political tussle.

The division in Osun APC did not stop Oyetola, who was then the incumbent governor, from clinching the APC governorship ticket for the second time.

Aregbesola and his loyalists did not participate in the re-election campaign activities of Oyetola.

Eventually, Oyetola lost the July 2022 governorship election to Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.