Allegation Of Smear Campaigns Against Oyetola Unfounded — Osun APC Faction

The Rasaq Salinsile faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has described as unfounded, the allegation of a smear campaign against Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

The faction which is loyal to Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior which called on the state governor to check himself properly as it is being chased by its own shadow noted that what he did to his predecessor was fast catching up with him.

In a press release signed and made available by Biodun Agboola, the faction's Publicity Secretary, the faction while challenging the state governor to substantiate his allegation of a smear campaign against him recalled that the Oyetola administration has been waging campaigns of calumny against his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola since he became governor in 2018.

According to Agboola, "The governor is crying wolf where there is none in his allegation that a smear campaign was being plotted against him and his government.

"Oyetola and his team have been involved in vigorous and deliberate efforts in feeding the public with falsehood to blackmail Aregbesola."

While expressing disbelief on the allegations of a smear campaign against Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, the factional APC spokesperson stated that rather than embark on the continuation of people-focused and impactful programmes for which he was part of their execution, he has put the state in reverse gear.

He lamented that Governor Oyetola who has spent the last three years maligning and setting up groups to blackmail his predecessor has raised an alarm of smear campaign, the factional APC spokesperson stated that the list of falsehood against Aregbesola is endless.

While noting that it was the civic responsibility of Osun citizens to ask questions, he explained that accountability and transparency in governance is not the same thing as smear campaigns. 

"It is clear that the people of Osun are asking questions over issues bordering on finance and what the governor has done with what he inherited. The governor must answer them and not whip up undue sentiments to muddle up the water.”

The state government had on Sunday raised an alarm over plans by some elements to discredit the state governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

In a statement which was signed by Ismail Omipidan, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, it was alleged that some individuals were bent on discrediting the governor engaging in a campaign of calumny against the person of the state governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

According to a statement made available by the state government through Ismail Omipidan, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor on Sunday in Osogbo,

"The Osun Government has raised the alarm over plots by some persons to discredit its achievements in Osun by embarking on a campaign of calumny against the Government and the person of the Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

"We are compelled to raise this alarm as an early warning sign of the clandestine schemes being put together by some unscrupulous elements to tarnish the image and reputation of the Governor, Government of Osun and to cause distractions.

"The public is hereby advised to ignore such stories whenever they are out, as they are nothing but outright lies aimed at creating confusion and misinforming the unsuspecting public."

The statement added that the government remained committed to delivering on its campaign promises adding that nothing will make it abandon that responsibility.

Also, last week, a group, The Osun Masterminds had requested the state government to make public the state's debt profile.

Reacting to the demand by the group, Wale Bolorunduro, a former Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning under Rauf Aregbesola and a chieftain of The Osun Progressives (TOP) demanded the state governor to explain his role in his predecessor's administration.

Bolorunduro claimed that the current state government as Chief of Staff in the administration of Rauf Aregbesola was the supervisor of all debts issues and the government official who sat over all approval of allocation of funds for projects in the state.

The former Commissioner also disclosed that due to these responsibilities, the governor could not shy away from his responsibility to tell the people how every loan obtained were deployed.