• Explains reasons for absence during general elections
• Denies asking supporters to vote PDP
The immediate past Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said that unless members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) eschew over-ambition, selfishness and envy, the party may not be free from constant crisis bedeviling it.
Aregbesola also said that the acrimony within the party in Osun State got aggravated after his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, and other leaders of the party in the state, failed to heed the warnings by some concerned party members under the aegis of the defunct The Osun Progressives (TOP).
The former governor of Osun State stated these, yesterday, during an interview monitored by The Guardian on a radio station in the state. He said TOP could not achieve its mission of saving the party from destruction and electoral loss because Oyetola and other party leaders then shunned complaints on how the party was being unfairly run.
Aregbesola said a politician that is over-ambitious, selfish and envious would not go far in politics or achieve any meaningful thing in government.
While recalling his achievements both as a governor and minister, Aregbesola contended that he is still being loved by the people of the state despite some claims that his administration owed workers and pensioners, among other allegations.
Aregbesola, who debunked the claim that he asked his supporters to vote for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the last elections in the state, said some of the factors that were responsible for the loss of APC in the last polls were because its leaders were insensitive to the plights and cautions of concerned members. He claimed he doesn’t have political enemies and explained why TOP was collapsed to pave way for OmoluabiProgressives Caucus in the state.
The former governor explained why he decided to absent himself during the recent polls in the state, saying: “I was not in Osun then to avoid accusations whether I was for one party or not.”
“We should find amicable resolutions. We members of Afenifere are ready to return our party to how we met it from our fore-fathers. Those who don’t like this may not join us. We are back to rebound and restructure our party ahead of 2026 so that the party of progressives will return to governance in the state.”
