A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, aligned with Saminu Turaki and led by former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has dumped its neutral stance to openly back the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, just days to Saturday’s election.
The endorsement came at a mobilisation rally held at the WOCDIF Event Centre in Osogbo, where members of the faction poured in from across the state’s local government areas to declare their support for Oyebamiji.
Notable figures at the event included former African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate and ex-Secretary to the State Government, Fatai Akinbade, alongside former PDP South-West Vice Chairman, Taju Oladipo, and several other party leaders and ex-office holders.
Addressing the crowd, Oyinlola moved quickly to shut down any suggestion that the group was leaving the PDP altogether, insisting instead that the decision to back a rival party’s candidate was rooted in conscience rather than defection.
“Let me begin by making one thing very clear: we remain members of the Peoples Democratic Party, the PDP. Our membership of the PDP is not in question,” he said.
“However, being members of a political party does not mean that we should abandon our conscience or the larger interest of the people we have served.
“Party loyalty is important, but the interest of Osun State must always come first.”
The former governor didn’t mince words about why his group had turned its back on the ruling party in the state, pointing to what he called years of exclusion from governance despite his faction’s early role in helping the administration into power.
“We were among the major stakeholders who worked tirelessly towards the emergence of the present administration under the platform of the PDP.
“We believed in that project. We supported it. We mobilised our people for it. We invested our time, energy and political capital in it because we believed that it represented the aspirations of our people,” he said.
“Unfortunately, along the line, things began to fall apart. One of the major issues that have created this unfortunate situation, in our considered view, is the lack of inclusiveness in the governance of our state.”
Drawing on his own record as a two-term governor of the state, Oyinlola argued that no administration could thrive without carrying its people along, stressing that neither he nor others in his camp were political newcomers unfamiliar with Osun’s terrain.
He repeated once more that the endorsement was not a resignation from the PDP, but a stand taken in the state’s interest.
In response, Oyebamiji promised an inclusive government should he emerge victorious, assuring the gathering that their political experience would not go to waste under his leadership.
“Those seated here are Osun’s stakeholders. There is no way one will abandon your wisdom and experiences if he wants to succeed as governor,” he said.
“I am assuring you that we will not abandon anyone in the running of the state. We won’t restrict governance to just a family or a community.”
Earlier at the event, Director-General of the APC Campaign Council, Wole Oke, charged members of the PDP faction to head back to their wards and polling units to rally support for Oyebamiji, promising that an APC-led government would champion inclusive governance across the state.
(The Whistler)