One of the prominent politicians in the country, Alhaji Shuaib Afolabi Oyedokun, announced the decision to switch his political party affiliation on Thursday .
He has resigned from the PDP and noted that he would be joining the APC.
Many among Osun state PDP members would definitely be surprised at what has happened given that the veteran politician had not only been a longtime ‘political friend’ of the Adeleke family but had also attended the event where Governor Ademola Adeleke was installed as Asiwaju of Ede earlier in the week. He had also attended an event earlier on Thursday where he was addressed as a PDP big wig.
The PDP stakeholders were definitely caught unawares.
Until recently, precisely, during the schism that existed in the state PDP under late Hon Soji Adagunodo, they had been on the same page when it comes to decisions on who should get what in the party.
Ahead of the 2003 gubernatorial election, as the then PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Alhaji Oyedokun had supported late Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke’s candidacy ‘all through’ , and this had caused a rift between him and his friend, late Chief S.M Afolabi who was then serving as Minister for Internal Affairs.
Alhaji Oyedokun ,Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, late Hon Soji Adagunodo and Dr Olu Alabi were also the PDP bigwigs that got in touch with the Adeleke family to discuss the idea of Governor Ademola Adeleke running on the party’s ticket ahead of the by-election for the then vacant Osun West Senate seat in 2017.
Former Minister for Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi , who had already won party nomination, was made to part with it.
The veteran politician had also been a member of PDP since its formation in 1998 except for the few months that he spent in the ACD during the Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration and he must have therefore had emotional attachment to the party.
When the Oranmiyan symbol, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was about to start his campaign in 2005, the ‘Oranmiyan house’ campaign office was inaugurated by Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun who by then had defected from the PDP and was a leader of the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) which later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria.
Oyedokun only returned to the PDP after the intervention of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, who presided over a peace meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in August 2006, and they were welcomed back to the party at an event held in Alekuwodo, Osogbo.
The veteran politician’s emotional attachment to the party was shown in the tone of the letter of resignation that he sent to the PDP Chairman in Ward 13,Jagun/Osi Bale Ode , Odo Otin South local government on Thursday while also giving reasons for his decision to leave the party ‘I have the honour (though with pain) to announce the renunciation of my membership of the party on principle having observed that the ideals of we, the founding members, have been sorely contaminated’.
Chief Oyedokun added that he took this step after due consultation with his teeming loyalists in the PDP.
He also said he would be joining the APC where ‘my experience,efforts and leadership roles’ would be ‘valued and appreciated’.
The former PDP Deputy National Chairman will, other things being equal, defect to the APC along with his supporters in Osogbo today.
The state APC Chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal had earlier on Wednesday issued a statement to announce plans to hold a mega defection ceremony for a former PDP guber aspirant, Prince Dotun Babayemi in Osogbo today before signals emerged that the event would get ‘spiced’ with defection of Alhaji Oyedokun, an experienced , seasoned, and skilled politician.
The event is scheduled to hold at the State APC Secretariat , along Osogbo-Gbongan road, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo.
The octogenarian politician, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, at different times served as old Oyo state NPN secretary, Secretary to the old Oyo state Government under Dr Omololu Olunloyo , PDP Deputy National Chairman (South) during Olusegun Obasanjo administration and Chairman of Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies, (MINILS), Ilorin, during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He was until his defection on Thursday, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT).
Team@orientactualmags.com sought for a telephone interview with him on Thursday night but one of his close associates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our reporter that the former PDP big wig would be giving his speech during the defection ceremony today while he however asserted that he (Oyedokun) had a plausible reason for his action and was left with no option than to leave the ruling party.
‘Baba is almost 90, he is not hoping to get appointed to government position, he has no case with EFCC, so, you cannot say he has joined APC because he does not want to be prosecuted, and it is not that his children are looking for appointment.
Actually, he was not happy with the way things are being done in the state PDP and since there was no way he could correct the situation because they have refused to take to advice , he had to leave the party.
He also complained several times that most of the PDP stakeholders are driven by personal ambitions which made them fail to ensure justice and fairness in arbitration.
Leaving the party was done on principle, recall that he left PDP during Obasanjo administration despite being the party controlling the Federal Government and AD was even having challenges then.
He was not just happy with the way things are being done.
When he supported late Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke’s candidacy in 2003 and Oyinlola eventually won and became the governor, Adeleke nominated Adejare Bello as Speaker, he also nominated his loyalists as commissioners , Akinbade , who was the party chairman , became SSG, Peter Power , who was a guber aspirant , was appointed as Chief of Staff, but those in charge now ostracized party leaders who did not support the current governor during the primary election.
There is also a need to support the Bola Tinubu administration because if he fails, it is the Yoruba nation that fails’ he said-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
