By Adenitan Akinola
The immediate past Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has launched another ‘Caucus’ within the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State named ‘Omoluabi Caucus’.
At the launch of the Omoluabi Caucus in Ilesa, Ogbeni Aregbesola described political parties as an amalgamation of different interests and tendencies, hence the new caucus is an interest within the APC.
Describing the Omoluabi Caucus as one of the many caucuses in the state, the former two-term governor of Osun, noted that the caucus is not a faction of the party, but a union of like-minds in the state.
“The Omoluabi Tendency is a caucus within the All Progressives Congress (APC); actually one of the caucuses in the state. We are not a faction. We are the genuine foundation members of the party and we have no intention of abandoning the ship of the party as it navigates the most turbulent waters. We are no sprinters, but long-distance runners and we will still be standing when all the fair-weathers have gone.
“A political party is actually an agglomeration of interests and tendencies. Reading well from the United States where we borrowed the Presidential System, we can see that the Republican Party is made up of big businesses, nationalists, religious right and others. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is composed of welfarists, labour unions, ethnic and sexual minorities and others.
“They are together in the party because their interests are broadly similar and they believe the party is the right vehicle for them to realise their goals. Sometimes they compete and clash, but for the most part, they cooperate and form strong bonds to give their party victory in every election cycle. The party loses any time this bond is broken,” Ogbeni Aregbesola stated.
The immediate past Minister of Interior also stated that the launch of the Omoluabi Caucus was to renew their path in progressive politics as inherited from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bola Ige, amongst other progressives who epitomise the Omoluabi ethos, noting that the loss of the party in the state can be traced to the departure from these progressive ideals, but revealing that it will bounce back to its winning ways.
Ogbeni Aregbesola stated that it was clear the people had not rejected the progressives in Osun, giving the warm reception accorded to his tendency; they were only unhappy with the managers of the party at that time.
“Given the enthusiastic and heartfelt reception accorded us by the people anytime we are in the state, it is clear that they did not reject us or our party. They are only not well pleased with the individuals who have turned our party into personal fiefdom and abandoned the path of progressivism and the interest of the people.
“Our party failed principally because of indiscipline and lack/loss of focus. This is manifested in the form of a lack of character and incompetence. Character is the mental and moral qualities required in an individual to occupy a certain office or perform a certain task.
Recall that in the heat of the crisis between him and his successor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, the former Governor and Minister founded a caucus named “The Osun Progressives” which divided the APC.
However, the Osun Progressives were disbanded after the 2022 Governorship Election.
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