The war of attrition between former governors of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola and Rauf Aregbesola is getting worse as both All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and their supporters are still battling for the soul of the party ahead of 2026 governorship election, TIMOTHY AGBOR reports

There seems to be no end in sight to the crises rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State. This is because the two leaders of the party, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola have been in a perpetual struggle for its control.

Since Aregbesola finished his tenure and handed over to Oyetola after a controversial governorship election, the party has since known no peace. This has been further aggravated by the leaders’ inability to find a common ground on what led to the party’s failure in the last elections in the state and how the party could be rebuilt.

The crisis became more pronounced after Oyetola failed in his bid to secure a second term in office following his defeat by Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 16, 2022 governorship election.

Oyetola, now Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, had fought so hard in court to nullify Adeleke’s victory but he was not lucky as the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Adeleke.

Ever since, Oyetola’s disaffection for his predecessor has grown stronger as the Minister accused Aregbesola of spearheading his downfall at the poll by allegedly engaging in anti-party activities and instigating some party members in his camp to vote against him.

But those in Aregbesola’s camp had also raised the alarm over perceived marginalisation as soon as Oyetola became the governor and leader of the party. They argued that Oyetola, in his bid to have full control of the party as well as the government, dismantled the party structure put in place by Aregbesola and planted his men at helms of the party, relegating them to the background.

They claimed that Oyetola sidelined loyalists of Aregbesola from his government and only worked with a few that turned their back against the former minister. Aregbesola’s loyalists concluded that Oyetola’s wrong actions while in office cost him his second term aspiration and not their leader.

After Oyetola lost, those in the defunct The Osun Progressives (TOP) amplified their clamour for restructuring of the party to prevent it from losing again in future elections. This call, they argued, has been shunned till date by Oyetola and his team.

After Aregbesola finished serving his four-year tenure as Minister under the immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, he returned to Osun and also advocated for restructuring of the party. In fact, Aregbesola had to tender a public apology to Oyetola and other party faithful who feel aggrieved to give reconciliation and restructuring a chance.

But in a twist, few weeks after Aregbesola’s homecoming, the party leadership loyal to Oyetola announced the expulsion of 84 members who belong to Aregbesola’s camp for alleged anti-party activities and disintegrating the party. Days later, an additional 26 chieftains, also loyalists of Aregbesola, were suspended by the Osun APC chapter.

Those suspended include the former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Najeem Salami, and an ex-chairman of the party, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi.

Also, former commissioners in Aregbesola’s administration, Adelani Baderinwa, Sikiru Ayedun and Senator Mudasiru Hussain were suspended.

Chairman of Osun APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, who announced the suspension of the party leaders, said they were suspended for anti-party activities. He said the disciplinary measure came in response to the allegations of misconduct bordering on factionalisation and creation of a parallel party organ.

Following the development, the rift between Oyetola and Aregbesola worsened. Checks by The Guardianrevealed that both leaders have been adopting separate methods to reposition the fragmented party and also prepare their camps ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial contest in 2026.

Credible party sources told The Guardian that Aregbesola, who had formed Omoluabi Caucus after the defunct TOP failed to reposition the party, has embarked on underground political strategies ahead of the 2026 governorship election in the state.

They noted that the one-time governor is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that APC returns to power in the state. It was gathered that the former minister, who had declared his readiness for full politics in Osun since his return, has been meeting with politicians with immense followership.

One of Aregbesola’s loyalists and former commissioner, Baderinwa, while reacting to his suspension and those of others, wondered why Oyetola’s camp would have to send them packing despite their efforts at advocating for solutions to issues that divide Osun APC.

Baderinwa, a former Commissioner of Information in the state, said: “Officially, we have nothing new to say, concerning the suspension and the ongoing crisis. We have stressed the need for all to sit together to find solution to it. Instead, they decided to make the issues we raised as non-issues and eventually went ahead to criminalise us as anti-party people. Two years afterwards, they made good their threats to send us out of the party. So, we have nothing more to say.”

Commenting on Aregbesola’s moves to reposition the party, Baderinwa stated, “You do not come out to play politics openly until the campaign time. There is no candidate contesting for any election now. So, it is until then that you will know something has been happening. I am saying that when Ogbeni said what he said (readiness for full politics), he meant what he said and I know that he has been working quietly.

“It is not the noise that makes you what you are; it is the ability to know where to go, whom to talk to and who to prevail on to talk to people, and what are the issues of discourse. These are the issues involved in politicking; it is not just junketing about. When the jamboreeing around is necessary, you will see us doing it and I can tell you that, like he said, he is back in Osun to politick and he has been politicking.”

Meanwhile, Oyetola’s camp controls the mainstream of the Osun APC leadership and it has gained more attention and relevance at the federal level, owing to the appointment of the former governor as the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. The prime position of Oyetola’s camp has been further bolstered with the emergence of former Senator, Ajibola Basiru as the party’s National Secretary.

In a bid to make the party viable and victorious at future polls, Oyetola, on his part, constituted a Repositioning Committee in the state. The 11-member committee, chaired by a former Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, submitted its report to the Minister recently in Osogbo.

The committee reiterated that Oyetola remains the leader of the party in the state, in accordance with the party’s constitution.

Adewole, who noted that the committee had successfully done justice to its terms of reference, said it is sacrosanct for the party leadership to invoke disciplinary measures on erring members forthwith.

He explained that the 72 memoranda submitted to the committee were fairly treated and the recommendations presented were direct products of submissions by critical stakeholders when they appeared before the committee.

“We recommend an immediate implementation of the need to strengthen the party structure in line with the constitution of the party and under no circumstances should political office holders be allowed to lord themselves over members in their wards or takeover the duties of party structure before, during and after every election at ward level,” the committee report read in part.

In his short remarks at the event, which had no loyalist of Aregbesola in attendance, Oyetola commended the chairman and members of the committee for their sacrifice to get the party repositioned.

He assured faithful that the leadership would ensure full implementation of the recommendations therein, adding that no stone would be left unturned in building a virile and formidable party in the state.

Speaking to The Guardian on way forward for the party, the chairman, Osun West Senatorial District under the watch of Oyetola, Omolaoye Oluremi Akintola said the party may experience another electoral disaster if the crisis is not resolved.

Akintola said, “The party, having received the report of the committee headed by Prof Adewole, knows the best steps to take. We believe that perceived misunderstanding can be appropriately addressed to ensure that wounds are healed. Before a peaceful and lasting solution could be proffered to any crisis, the causes of such crisis must be dealt with appropriately; otherwise, such a person is going to fall again. But, we don’t want to experience this unexpected situation again.

“Anyone who is conversant with the trend in politics knows that when some horrible things want to rear their heads, appropriate political steps that would nip the crisis in the bud must be taken at the approximate time. I believe this is the most appropriate time because there is no election in the next few months. So, we still have time to put our house in order,” he stated.