OSUN: Oyetola Faulted By C’ttee He Constituted To Find Out Why APC Lost 2022 Election

A committee constituted by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has revealed 14 reasons why the party failed in the 2022 governorship election and the 2023 general elections.

The committee, which was headed by former minister of health, Professor Isaac Adewole, submitted its report to the party’s leadership on Saturday in Osogbo.

The report identified poor leadership and irregular payment of salaries, among the reasons former Governor Gboyega Oyetola lost his re-election bid and APC’s poor outing during the 2023 general election.

Professor Adewole, while presenting the report to Oyetola, who is now the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, said, “We’ve identified 14 failure enablers among which are: the disconnection between the government and the governed, poor leadership, irregular payment of salaries and pensions, poor reward system, imposition by party leaders, mismanagement of the event following the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke and the consequent nomination of a candidate for the Osun West Senatorial by-election in 2017 and others.”

Others are, “Indiscipline and anti-party activities, agitation of Osun West agenda known as ‘West Lokan’, lack of commitment by party leaders and members, undue desire to grab money allocated to wards and units by leaders, ineffective use of the media to project achievements of the governor, inadequate preparation for the election, poor election management and insecurity.”

Reading out part of the committee’s recommendations, Adewole said: “We must curb party indiscipline and pave the way for party primaries. There is no need for us to collect money for forms when we have anointed candidates. The money should be returned to those who purchased forms.

“At the end of every election, we must reconcile those who lost out. There should be standing committees to deal with reconciliation after every election. We should also negotiate with interest groups to have a larger support base. Public elected officials should be charged specific levies or amounts to fund the party on a monthly or annual basis, in line with the party’s constitution.

“The immediate past governor and minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, remains the leader of the party in line with the party’s constitution. He must maintain a large heart and big pocket to galvanize the party.”

Responding to the report, Oyetola promised that the party would review the recommendations and implement them for the unity of the party.

“We are gathered here to receive the report that will further strengthen our party and lubricate the Omoluabi family chain that exists in the party. We have listened carefully to the report.

“The next step will be for the party to set up an implementation committee, which will review the recommendations and take appropriate steps to implement them without much ado. Once the recommendations are implemented, we will have resolved to work together as a family to sustain the progress, peace, and development of the APC in Osun State.

“As a party, we will continue to harness our resources to take care of the interests of the youth, women, and the generality of the party members. We will empower them to find useful expressions for their innate talents, skills, and competencies so that they can contribute their quota to the development of the party, the state, and Nigeria at large.”