A senior leader of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State has allegedly admitted that the state currently receives higher federal allocations than during the party’s time in power, in what sources described as a tense and aborted mobilisation meeting ahead of the governorship election.
The closed-door meeting, held in Osogbo, reportedly ended abruptly after a disagreement between the APC leader and some invited stakeholders who declined to support the party’s candidate.
Two eyewitnesses, who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity, said the APC leader had appealed to attendees to mobilise support for the party’s governorship candidate but met resistance from representatives of the invited groups.
According to the sources, one of the stakeholders, who spoke on behalf of others, openly declared support for Governor Ademola Adeleke, citing his performance in office.
“We have endorsed Adeleke. The man has done well for us in our areas,” the source quoted the stakeholder as saying.
The situation reportedly escalated when the APC leader questioned the basis of their support, pointing to increased federal allocations to the state.
“Do you know the amount of money the Federal Government has paid to the state? Did they tell you of the huge money they are getting? During our time, we did not get that type of money,” the eyewitness quoted the leader as saying.
However, the stakeholder reportedly maintained his stance, insisting that performance, not funding, influenced their decision.
“We are not interested in how much money; we only saw the job well done by Adeleke and we embraced him,” he was quoted as responding.
Sources said the APC leader further argued that the current administration’s performance should be viewed in the context of increased resources, stating that comparisons with previous administrations were unfair.
Tension in the meeting reportedly peaked when the leader allegedly made a controversial remark suggesting that the current government had faced significant political pressure.
“If you know what we have done to them, we are surprised that the government is still surviving. If not that Deji has money, the Adeleke government would have collapsed by now,” one of the eyewitnesses quoted him as saying.
The comment reportedly drew silence from attendees, after which the stakeholder reaffirmed their position.
“We have tested several governments and, for our town, Adeleke has done well. In the past, they would call our town their second home, but after years, we had nothing to show for it. Adeleke changed our story. So we apologise—our candidate is Adeleke,” the source quoted him.
The stakeholder was also said to have expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the next presidential election, while urging the APC leader to focus on national politics.
“For the presidential election, Tinubu is our choice. We advise that you promote Mr President’s re-election and not get further involved in the state election. Adeleke’s re-election is a pan-Osun agenda,” he reportedly added.
Sources said the meeting ended abruptly without any resolution.
Efforts to get official reactions from the APC leadership in the state were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
