The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State, has called on President Bola Tinubu to call ex-governor Gboyega Oyetola to order over what it described as “evil moves targeted at destroying the peace of the state being perpetrated by the ex-governor”
The party made the call on Monday in a statement issued by the state chairman, Sunday Bisi, and obtained by OSUN DEFENDER in Osogbo.
The party accused Oyetola of being a bad loser who has been dropping Tinubu’s name to perpetrate political evil in the state and also warned the former governor to stop his alleged disruptive activities.
The statement read, “We are constrained to bring to the attention of Mr. President and the entire Presidency the untoward activities of former Governor Oyetola, which are capable of destroying the peace and stability of Osun State and negatively undermine the presidential agenda for Osun State, the South West, and Nigeria as a whole.
“We start by noting that the opposition has a legitimate right to play the role of the opposition. Such opposition roles do not however entail evil moves targeted at destroying the peace of the state, misrepresentation of presidential intention, the deliberate disruption of state-federal relations or attempted unlawful abuse of federal power against state officials performing their statutory roles. That will amount to malignant behaviour and a direct threat to democratic ideals.
“Surprisingly, Mr. Oyetola has been dropping Mr. President’s name to manipulate federal agencies to serve his selfish interests. The other time, he hijacked the SMEDAN SME programme, to serve his faction of APC, even leaving out other APC members, giving Mr President a bad name. He did the same on rice distribution which he allegedly took from NEMA but which he shared with his faction against reaching out to the generality of Osun people as Mr President preferred in line with the law.
“Rather than working to unite his party ahead of 2026, he is busy trying to make the state ungovernable, disrupting federal–state collaboration, and attempting to use federal agencies such as the FCT DSS to harass state officials. We learnt Oyetola has used the FCT DSS to threaten the arrest of the Spokesperson to the Osun State Governor for performing his statutory duties of projecting and promoting Mr. Governor.
“We warn that such an attempt at arm-twisting is a failed strategy, as officials and citizens are entitled to the enforcement of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution, and the same constitution also regulates human rights and intergovernmental relations among the three tiers of government.
“Mr President should call Mr Oyetola to order before plunging Osun into an avoidable crisis.”
Reacting, the Osun All Progressives Congress, APC, in a statement by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, described Oyetola as a peace-loving man.
The party dismissed the claim by the PDP that Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, is endangering the peace of Osun as not only outlandish but bogus.
The Osun APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, stated that the state PDP chairman and his cronies simply cooked up a lie to suit their purpose.
“Oyetola is not known for violence. Osun APC is known for its peaceful disposition. All these played out during the reign of Oyetola as Governor.
“This explains why, despite the attempt on his life during the EndSARS protest in Osogbo, Oyetola never abused his office to intimidate or harass anyone. So, if Governor Ademola Adeleke’s spokesperson, or any PDP chieftain for that matter has any issues with security agencies, they should go and sort themselves out and stop the cheap blackmail of dragging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into a matter that has no basis.
“The first reaction was to ignore Sunday Bisi and his co-travellers. But because they lumped other issues into it, including the issue of fathom rice from NEMA, the APC is compelled to put the records straight.
“We have always said that Osun PDP leaders and their handlers strive for propaganda and cheap blackmail.
“We are not known for violence. If anyone has issues with security agencies, he should go and sort them out himself. Dragging the presidency into it is cheap blackmail and has no basis,” Lawal added.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
