Gov. Oyetola, Aregbesola set for showdown in Osun this week

Ex Governor of Osun State Aregbesola and Governor of Osun State Oyetola

The simmering feud between Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and his predecessor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, may escalate this week and plunge the state into crisis.

Credible sources said de¬spite belonging to the same po¬litical family, the relationship between Oyetola and Aregbe¬sola has “seriously collapsed and several efforts made to reconcile both men within and outside the state have failed to achieve the desired result”.

Speaking with our cor¬respondent on Sunday, the source, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is among those brokering peace between the duo, said while Oyetola, who was sworn in on November 27, 2018 has rolled out plans to mark his second anniversary, Aregbes¬ola, on the other hand has also rolled out plans to celebrate 10 years of progressive gover¬nance in Osun State.

According to him, even though the 10 years covers the eight-year tenure of Aregbesola as governor and Oyetola’s two years in office, the state government is not in the know as only the minister and his loyalists are the ones putting the plans together.

“The truth is, the situation is getting out of hand between the governor and the minister. We have been trying to man¬age it but the truth is that the attitude of some of these key players hasn’t been helpful.

“The Osun State govern¬ment will clock two years in office this week. The state gov-ernment has lined up some activities which includes commissioning of projects. However, we received reports that the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Aregbesola is also coming to Osun this week to celebrate what they called ‘10 Years of Progressive Gover-nance in Osun’ without con¬sulting with the governor.

“We felt since they are both members of the same politi¬cal party and family, if you are celebrating 10 years of APC coming to power in Osun, it is the responsibility of the state government to do that, not an individual; or at best, there should be a synergy between the incumbent governor and his predecessor. But I can categorically tell you that the minister is doing it without recourse to the governor.

“From intelligence report we have gathered, there is no way there won’t be crisis if both events take place at the same time because the sup¬porters in both camps are al¬ready threatening showdown. It was even alleged that some supporters of the minister masterminded the attack on the governor and his convoy last month using the #End-SARS protest as a cover. Many had alleged that the minister is remotely connected to the attack.

“We have appealed to the minister to shelve his event for some days to allow the state government celebrate the second anniversary this week but he won’t budge”.

Also speaking, a former Commissioner in Osun State, who spoke on condition of an-onymity, said President Mu¬hammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other APC leaders should call Aregbeso¬la to order and allow peace to reign in the state.

According to him, the min¬ister has been unhappy over his failure to “entrench him¬self as the political godfather of the state”.

He said Aregbesola was em¬bittered that Oyetola reversed some of his policies such as the education policy which many residents of the state considered as “anti-people”. (Daily Independent)