… Challenges Aiyedatiwa on evidence backing Tinubu’s re-election

... Says party leaders can’t be bought, defends Tunji-Ojo’s mobilisation drive

The former Chief Press Secretary to the late former Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Richard Olatunde, has stated that the APC elders who recently advised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to reconcile with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, are independent voices who cannot be manipulated.

Olatunde’s stance comes amid the diatribes within the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), between the camps of Aiyedatiwa and Tunji-Ojo over who is best positioned to lead the party’s mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

The former aide was responding to an article by Debo Akinbami, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, who had accused the Minister of backing the elders of the party in the state.

Akinbami had described the PBAT Elders Mandate Forum, which met in Akure last week, as a “vanguard of old guys” commissioned by Tunji-Ojo to fight Aiyedatiwa and alleged that the elders were “financially strained” and in need of the Minister’s “seldom stipends to stay afloat.”

Olatunde, who rejected the position of Akinbami, insisted that the elders have paid their dues in the APC in Ondo State.

The former Chief Press Secretary argued that Demola Ijabiyi, who is the governor’s senior special assistant on public communications is known to speak truth to power whether in opposition or as a member of a ruling party.

“It would therefore be uncharitable for Governor Aiyedatiwa to believe that anyone can influence the voice of a man like Demola Ijabiyi, who has spent his life advocating for good governance and speaking on issues that affect the people of Ondo State,” Olatunde stated.

He further defended the APC Elders Forum, describing its members as individuals who have contributed enormously to the development of the state and the party.

Olatunde challenged Aiyedatiwa’s camp to present evidence of the governor’s own mobilisation efforts for Tinubu, arguing that Tunji-Ojo’s commitment is visible across the state.

“It would therefore be inappropriate for anyone to assume that these elders, who have paid their dues, were nudged, sponsored or influenced by the Minister of Interior,” he stressed.

“What they said is not different from what is already in the public domain, the facts are there that the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is working tirelessly for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ondo State.”

The former CPS, who noted that more than fifteen groups are working together for the President’s re-election with the support of the Minister, questioned Aiyedatiwa’s performance and his claim to lead Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the state.

“These are not just groups existing on billboards. They are visible on the ground. They are organising medical outreaches and engaging young people. They are going into the grassroots. They are speaking to communities and explaining why President Tinubu deserves another term. Everyone can see the work these groups are doing.

“So, for Aiyedatiwa to believe that he should be the one to champion President Tinubu’s re-election in Ondo State, while dismissing or vilifying someone who has committed his time, resources and energy to that cause, is difficult to understand.

“As we speak, where is the visible structure Governor Aiyedatiwa has put in place for President Tinubfor Tinubu,ion in Ondo State? Even the group he claimed to have put together for the President’s election is hardly visible. Where are the grassroots engagements? Where are the programmes and activities that should convince the people of Ondo State to support the President?

“Governor Aiyedatiwa should take his time and focus on governance. Because, as we speak, the Governor is making the APC increasingly difficult to mminister Ondinterior.What tangible projects or achievements can he point to today and say, ‘This is what we have done, and this is why you should support our party and, by extension, President Tinubu’?

“Nothing is more convincing to the people than performance. Can Governor Aiyedatiwa, based on his current record, convince the people of Ondo State to vote for President Tinubu?

“Let the man the people have chosen to follow and listen to do his own. The Minister of Interior should be allowed to spend his time, resources and energy working for the re-election of his principal. There is no wisdom in fighting the man who is doing the work,” he said.