As reactions and post-mortem analyses continue on the outcome of last weekend’s Osun State Governorship Election, a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Hon. Jamiu Olawumi, says the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, is to be blamed for the APC’s defeat in the polls.

Hon. Jamiu Olawumi, who served as Special Adviser on Education to Gboyega Oyetola during his four-year term as Osun State Governor (2018-2022), accused his former principal of alienating and expelling several political bigwigs and their supporters from the APC, which contributed to the party’s second consecutive loss in the Osun gubernatorial election.

Hon. Olawumi, in an exclusive interview with Noble News, said the Minister Oyetola-led Osun APC caucus sabotaged the party’s chances of winning the election by disqualifying some governorship aspirants, including Senator Iyiola Omisore, from contesting the party’s governorship primaries.

He further accused Minister Oyetola of running the affairs of the APC in Osun State with an iron fist, leaving no room for dissenting voices. He added that Oyetola’s leadership style was responsible for the departure of former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, from the party.

He said, “The immediate past governor, who is now the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, has been the albatross of that party (APC).

“He expelled from the party-through his action and inaction-former governor Rauf Aregbesola, who even brought him into Osun. He (Oyetola) was not a politician before Aregbesola came here. It was Aregbe that brought Gboyega Oyetola as chief of staff. His (Oyetola’s) former boss for eight years was excommunicated too and eventually expelled from the party. So, he is a personality who does not want superior opinion. If you have your opinion, you keep it. You have to follow follow.”

Jamiu Olawumi, who defected to the Accord Party a few months before the election, also praised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s performance in office, saying the dancing governor had delivered for the people of Osun State, hence his re-election.

Olawumi credited Governor Adeleke for clearing arrears owed to Osun State civil servants and investing in infrastructure projects. He claimed that the incumbent governor had done better in office than Oyetola and his predecessors.

He stated, “He (Oyetola) is the albatross; he is the reason why people rejected APC in Osun, because of what he did while in office. You cannot equate a governor (Adeleke) who paid the 29 (months’) salary arrears owed by the APC, who has given promotions with consequential adjustments and salary to the workers, who is constructing and making good our cities, to a government that only tarred two kilometres of road in Ile-Ife for four years.

“There was no way people will not reject APC because Oyetola is still there in that party. They have to remove him as the leader of the party before the people of Osun will show them mercy and kindness. So those are the major reasons.

“Adeleke is performing. No government since the creation of Osun that has surpassed his achievements in three-and-a-half years. So that is the reason. And the people were resolute; they stood their ground, and they were committed to vote for him again.”