Tinubu summons emergency meeting
President Bola Tinubu has held a late-night meeting with about 76 leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State as the party works to resolve internal disagreements ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The meeting took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after concerns were raised about growing discontent among some APC leaders in the state.
The gathering was reportedly arranged after National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu presented an intelligence report on the situation within the party.
According to sources familiar with the development, the report indicated that several APC leaders in Osun felt excluded from the affairs of the party and had not been properly involved in the ongoing campaign activities.
The development was said to have raised concerns over the party’s chances in the governorship election, prompting the President to bring the affected leaders together for discussions.
Tinubu reportedly asked the party leaders to put their differences aside and work together for the victory of the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO.
The leaders were transported to Abuja for the meeting, with some travelling on chartered flights from Ibadan, Oyo State. Others, including former presidential aide Babajide Omoworare, reportedly travelled from Lagos.
The meeting was coordinated by APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru after he was contacted by the Presidency to bring together party leaders who had complained about being left out of the party’s activities in Osun.
Sources who attended the meeting said the gathering gave the leaders an opportunity to speak openly about their concerns and explain the challenges affecting the party in the state.
One of the major issues reportedly raised was the distribution of federal appointments involving people from Osun State.
Some of the leaders complained that appointments had largely gone to members of the political camp associated with former Osun State Governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The leaders were said to have told Tinubu that many party members felt disconnected from the way the APC was being managed in the state.
They also raised concerns that some members could be left out if the party wins the governorship election.
The President reportedly reminded the leaders that internal disagreements could hurt the party at the polls.
He also referred to the APC’s previous losses in Osun and expressed concern about mistakes that contributed to the party’s performance in earlier elections.
Tinubu was also said to have urged the leaders to focus on securing victory for the party instead of allowing past disagreements to affect the coming election.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the need to ensure that APC members across Osun work together regardless of their political camps.
Sources said the President assured the leaders that there would be opportunities for party members from the state at the federal level and urged them to concentrate on winning the governorship election.
The meeting was reportedly attended by several former lawmakers and political leaders from Osun, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives Olubunmi Ete, former state House of Assembly speakers Mojeed Alabi, Adejare Bello and Wale Afolabi, as well as other APC chieftains.
Other names mentioned among those present were Shuaib Oyedokun, Poju Odusola, Bode Olanipekun and Babajide Omoworare.
Those familiar with the meeting described it as an opportunity for the President to hear directly from party leaders who felt they had been excluded from the party’s activities.
The gathering also reportedly focused on the need to prevent internal disagreements from affecting the campaign of Oyebamiji ahead of the election.
APC leaders who attended were said to have left Abuja after the meeting and returned to Osun the next morning, with some already beginning fresh mobilization efforts for the party’s candidate.
A source close to Basiru also confirmed his participation, saying the APC national secretary played a major role in bringing the leaders together as part of efforts to improve unity within the party before the election.
Another member of the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council also confirmed that about 76 party leaders travelled to Abuja to meet with Tinubu and said some of them had already started mobilising support for Oyebamiji.
The meeting comes as the APC intensifies efforts to secure victory in the August 15 Osun governorship election amid concerns over divisions within the party.
