National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Ajibola Basiru on Thursday evening said he has no rift with either his predecessor in office, Senator Oyinlola Omisore, or the minister of Marine and Blue Economy who is the immediate past governor of Osun as being speculated in some quarters in the state.
The party national scribe who made this known in a press parley held at his residence in Osogbo, charges members of the public to disregard the claim, which he described as fabricated lies.
He said, “I don’t have any problem with the former Governors. The truth is this, our party is a party of leadership. As of today, there are two former Governors in our party, “Baba Bisi Akande whom I celebrated Salah with yesterday, and Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega, both of them are my leaders”.
“You can’t say I’m fighting my leaders, anybody that is saying that. I know it can come from them but you know PDP also has an affiliate, so, it can either come from the PDP or some affiliates of PDP that are writing their own stories so I don’t have any problem with anybody even, Senator Omisore and I are in good terms. All those put in place by Omisore before I assumed office are still working with me. I did not sack them, So, if I have a problem with Senator Omisore, Will I be able to do so?
“Even, Governor Gboyega Oyetola sent Salah greetings to me and I called him and we spoke for about 10 minutes. We cracked jokes and he promised me that, my Salah gift was already reserved. So somebody who has reserved Salah gift for me and I’ve already recorded that, I don’t know what problem you said we have.”
“The truth is this, some of those stories you are saying, are being concocted by the propaganda machinery of the Adeleke government because of 2026 governorship election in the state. They are jobless and the stories do not gel. You know when you even talk of stories, you must talk of stories that have reasonability. I’m the national secretary of the party, Governor Gboyega Oyetola former Governor is the Minister, we have more serious business to do than to reduce ourselves to the level of inanities.
“Assuming, Governor Oyetola was around yesterday, I would have been in his house to eat and our house is not far from each other in Abuja. We spoke so we don’t have any problem, if they are already afraid of our party in 2026, let them wait till expression of interest form comes out, till the nomination process comes out before you know who is contesting and who is not contesting in the election but they would say “I will not step down” When did I say that?
“The president, Ahmed Tinubu, in his own wisdom gave us our responsibility, he decided to appoint Governor Isiaka Oyetola as Minister of one of the most strategic Ministries in Government, Marine Economy. On his own volition, he decided that the leadership of the party would make me the national secretary of the party so, I will leave my job as national secretary then, it is about 2026 election that I’ll be concerned about now when I still have a lot to attend to as the national scribe of the party.
“Then secondly, what is the issue those behind the rumour are talking about? They are talking about the 2026 gubernatorial election. Has expression of interest come out? Has the form been issued out? So, in 2024 you are already talking, I even read one that they said, “I will not step down for anybody.
“Who is discussing something like that?
Some of us are serious-minded people, we have serious work to do. We are working towards the primary election in Ondo, we have already successfully managed the primary in Edo State and by the grace of God, we are going to record victories in the two states.
“Electorally, the bye-election that we did last, go and check, our party performed more than 75 percent than any other political party. It speaks to the serious work that my team including myself and the NWC are doing so we don’t have time for inanities.”
On Osun APC, Senator Ajibola said,
“We are repositioning our party in Osun and by the grace of God, we are going to kick out those nitwits in country home in Ede because they are not staying in Government House in Osun.
We are going to kick them out in 2026 by the grace of Almighty God”.
