Witnesses Recount Tense Osun APC Mobilisation Meeting

 Witnesses Recount Tense Osun APC Mobilisation Meeting

Two eyewitnesses have alleged that a senior leader of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State made a startling admission during a closed-door mobilisation meeting convened to canvass support for the party’s governorship candidate.

The witnesses, who briefed selected journalists in Osogbo on Tuesday morning, said the meeting was hosted by the unnamed APC leader said to hold a prominent position at the federal level.

According to the accounts, the session was part of several engagements organised to persuade key stakeholders to back the APC candidate ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

One of the eyewitnesses said the APC leader, accompanied by other senior party figures in the state, addressed invited dignitaries and appealed for their support.

“He delivered his speech and urged the guests to work for the APC candidate in the interest of the party,” one of the sources stated.

However, tension reportedly arose when one of the invited dignitaries, speaking on behalf of others present, rejected the appeal and declared support for Governor Ademola Adeleke.

“We had endorsed Adeleke. The man has done well for us in our areas,” the eyewitness quoted the guest as saying.

The source further alleged that the APC leader interrupted, asking, “Do you know the amount of money the Federal Government has paid to the state? Did they tell you of the huge money they are getting? During our time, we did not get that type of money.”

According to the account, the guest maintained his position, replying, “We are not interested in how much money; we only saw the job well done by Adeleke and we embraced him.”

The eyewitnesses claimed the APC leader became increasingly agitated and said, “You people don’t know what is happening. They got more money than us. You cannot compare our performance with that of the Adelekes.”

One of the witnesses described as “shocking” a further remark allegedly made at the meeting: “If you know what we have done to them. We are surprised that government is still surviving. If not that Deji has money, the Adeleke government would have collapsed by now.”

The sources said the comment was followed by what they described as “pin-drop silence” in the room, including among members of the leader’s inner caucus who accompanied him.

The guest reportedly responded again, stating, “We have tested several governments and for our town, Adeleke has done so well, so good for us. In the past, they will come and tell us our town is their second home. After 12 years, our town has nothing to show. Adeleke came and changed our story. So we apologise — our candidate is Adeleke.”

The eyewitnesses added that the guest, however, expressed support for President Bola Tinubu in the next presidential election, saying, “For the presidential election, Ahmed Tinubu is our choice. We want to advise that you promote Mr President’s re-election. Kindly don’t get further involved in the state election. Adeleke for re-election is a pan-Osun agenda. This is not about political party, it is about our dear state.”

According to the sources, the meeting ended abruptly shortly after the exchange, with no further resolutions announced.