President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Ayo Abass Aleshinloye as a Federal Character Commission (FCC) commissioner has sparked reactions among key members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State.
Aleshinloyeis a former Accord Party (AP) member and a House of Representatives candidate at the 2023 elections.
Stakeholders of the APC expressed concern over what they describe as a lopsided pattern of appointments by the President. They alleged that those appointments disproportionately favour the camp of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and his Accord Party (AP) faction within Oyo State.
Party members speaking anonymously described the appointments as unfair and a betrayal of those who worked hard for APC and Tinubu’s victory. Two senior party officials, wary of reprisal, noted that the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate, Teslim Kolawole Folarin, and his running mate, Dr Femi Okunlola, have yet to receive any federal appointment.
“Folarin, who also served as Oyo State Coordinator for the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), remains unappointed, while nearly all PCC members and unsuccessful National Assembly candidates from Lagos and Osun states have been rewarded, including Ayo Omidiran, recently named Chairman of the Federal Character Commission. Oyo’s counterparts have been sidelined by both the party and the Presidency,” they said.
They lamented that key figures, who worked on the Tinubu-Shettima Campaign Organisation in Oyo, including Dr Isiaka Kolawole (Director-General), Yemi Aderibigbe (Deputy Director-General), and Kehinde Olaosebikan (Director, Media and Publicity), have been overlooked in favour of individuals with little or no campaign involvement.
According to them, this troubling trend began with the appointment of Adebayo Adelabu, the Accord Party’s 2023 governorship candidate.
As Minister of Power, the highest political position allocated to Oyo State. This, they argue, sidelined more qualified and loyal APC members in the state.
Meanwhile, Bolaji Tunji, spokesman for Adelabu, dismissed the allegations as unfounded. “As long as Aleshinloye is a member of APC and eminently qualified for the position, other sentiments are of no concern,” he said.
Also, Oyo APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said: “That’s a mere distraction. Our focus is on the coming by-elections on Saturday.”
