ONDO: Meeting with Tinubu, Akande doesn’t guarantee Akeredolu’s second term –APC stalwarts

Some aggrieved stalwarts of Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC), led by former deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, on Thursday said the recent meeting held with the national leaders of the party in the state didn’t guarantee Akeredolu’s second term.

Recall that the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had led other APC leaders, including Chiefs Bisi Akande and Segun Osoba, to a closed-door meeting with concerned APC leaders in the state, to reconcile warring factions with Akeredolu.

Olanusi, who spoke during the group’s meeting in Akure, the state capital, said the meeting was purely on the unity and progress of Ondo APC ahead of future elections.

At the meeting were also Chief Bayo Sunmonu, Dr. Segun Abraham, represented by his political aide, Olatunde Olayinka, Bola Ilori, Solagbade Amodeni, Chiefs Felix Ayegbusi, S.A Idris, Raph Adetimehin, Fola Olaseinde-Vincentte, Mrs. Kehinde Adeniran and Mrs. Grace Akinola among many others.

Olanusi said part of the resolutions reached at the Southwest leaders’ meeting was for the dissolution of the Ade Adetimehin-led APC state working committee.

He contended that Akeredolu has failed to honour his own part of the agreement more than one week after the meeting, adding  that the aggrieved group was hopeful that he would not renege on the promise he made in the presence of the APC national leaders.

The APC Board of Trustees (BoT) member said: “We want to appreciate  leaders of our party in the Southwest for calling last week’s meeting. What we discussed was that our party must move ahead in unity and progress.

“The leaders agreed with us that for the party to achieve the needed unity, the state executives of the party should be dissolved and caretaker committee be set up to run the party pending the time a new congress will be called.

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“They never contested our position and they said they will look into it. We are waiting for the national headquarters of APC to do the needful because those leaders don’t have the power to dissolve party executives. We told them we have lost confidence in Adetimehin-led state executives and they agreed with us.

“However, we want to place on record that Tinubu, Chief Akande and others did not call the meeting for the second ambition of Akeredolu. In fact, nobody discussed any political ambition, knowing full well the party is still in crisis.”

Ilori, a former Commissioner for Regional Integration in Osun State, said a window of peace had been opened with the meeting, adding that both parties must keep to the agreement.

The APC stalwart expressed the need to consolidate the ruling party now, especially as the next governorship election draws near.

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