The last All Progressive Congress Party (APC) monthly meeting hosted by the Okaka branch of the party in Itesiwaju Local Government area of Oyo state last Thursday, February 27, 2025, has come and gone, but the murmurings generated are getting louder by the day, reverberating beyond Okaka.
According to observers, indications as to the ugly scenario emerged few hours to the meeting when the venue for the meeting- (open field adjacent to Ajala Filling station along Ipapo road, Agelu area of Okaka), as earlier proposed by the local exco under the coordination of the party vice-chairman who is from Okaka, and endorsed by the regular, consistent party leaders and followers in the town, reputed for its impressive credentials in consistent progressive politics, was unilaterally changed by Hon. Olabiyi who is perceived in the town as having a huge deficit when it comes to party loyalty.
This parallel meeting plotted by Hon Olabiyi led to discontent on the part of party faithfuls who had tagged the meeting as “unity meeting” just like it was in other towns in the local government area that had hosted the meeting, but alas! this “arrogant decision” of a “serial decampee” robbed Okaka of her deserved glory, according to the narratives of party faithfuls.
They alleged that Hon Olabiyi “never voted for APC since the party’s inception in 2014,” tracing his political trajectory to 2011, when he was elected to represent the federal constituency in the lower chamber of the federal parliament, with the the late Ajimobi as Governor, on the platform of ACN, who, he characteristically, eventually parted ways with to join Labour Party LP, and later in 2019, ZLP , as running mate to Sen Sarafa Alli who latter formed a coalition that worked for the victory of Gov Seyi Makinde of PDP.
Not just that, in 2023,he was an Accord stalwart who worked tirelessly to see to the failure of the APC candidate and voted Gov. Seyi Makinde of PDP again .”He claimed to have returned to the party after his appointment in the power sector, but never attended any ward meeting nor met with any of the existing stable leaders of the party that have been nurturing and financing the party before his appointment – driven return to the fold in Okaka, a town regarded as one of the stronghold of the progressive politics in the council area.
Amongst leaders ignored and sidelined are: the immediate past Ambassador to Republic of Togo; H.E. Debo ADESINA, Hon (Chief) Femi DURODOLA, former SSA to Gov Ajimobi, and top member of APC, UK Chapter, Hon Thomas Supo Olayode former ITESIWAJU LG chairman, former Secretaries to ITESIWAJU LG – Com Olusola ABIODUN and Olanipekun Taofeek respectively and even the sitting vice- chairman of the party in Itesiwaju Mr OSENI Surajudeen, all these figures are the financiers and are the ones nurturing the party since 2014 with huge finances in Okaka community”, they alleged further.
As such, “with all the aforementioned resolving to host the general meeting of the party in Okaka at a venue; and Hon Olabiyi insisting on holding his own parallel meeting outside the agreed venue approved by the Leaders earlier mentioned and which was duly signed by the party LG Vice- chairman all from Okaka, amounts to sabotage and points at, in his usual character, destabilizing the party by rubbishing the efforts of these leaders at fostering unity in the party”, the source concluded.
