“We are not rivalling Tinubu’s campaign,” Osun APC says

From Lateef Dada, Osogbo

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has clarified that its newly formed committee is a Parliamentary Campaign Committee, not a parallel body.

The party explained that the committee is tasked with campaigning for the party’s National Assembly and state House of Assembly candidates. It is led by Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), the party’s governorship candidate in the last election, who serves as its Director-General.

The party firmly denied establishing a parallel presidential campaign committee that would rival the official one inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in which Governor Ademola Adeleke serves as the state coordinator.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the APC Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, explained that there was no reason to set up a competing presidential campaign structure.

He noted that it is public knowledge that Governor Adeleke has offered to collaborate with other political parties in the state to secure over 1.5 million votes for President Tinubu in the upcoming election.

“We have stated repeatedly that we are grateful to Governor Adeleke for his demonstrated resolve to lead the campaign for our presidential candidate, and that we are ready and willing as a party to work with him.

“The event of last Saturday at Nelson Mandela Park in Osogbo, the state capital, was a testimony of our resolve to work with the governor toward the overall electoral victory of our presidential candidate.

“Our appeal is to the agents of mischief to desist from trying to spark rancour, division and disunity within the rainbow coalition, which is clearly yielding bountiful results,” Olabisi said.

He emphasised that Asiwaju Oyebamiji remains the Director-General of the parliamentary campaign organisation and is actively championing the achievements of the presidential candidate to help secure over 1.5 million votes for the President.

Addressing concerns raised earlier in the week, the party expressed appreciation to some members of the State Executive Committee who drew attention to the omission of their names, affecting only four out of 35 executive members, from the published list on social media.

“It is our conviction that the resentment of those state executive members was an indication of their strong desire to be counted among the active participants on the Oyebamiji-led parliamentary campaign council of the Osun State APC,” Olabisi added.