The first interim national chairman of All Progressive Congress(APC), Chief Bisi Akande has explained the risk he took to make sure the rancour between the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola and the ex-Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola ended.
This is as the former governor of Osun State boasted that the duo of Aregbesola and Oyetola will soon end their animosity and work together.
Akande noted that he risked his life to end the bickering between the two political gladiators during the ravaging COVID-19 in 2020 but the reconciliatory meeting which was witnessed by President Bola Tinubu yielded no results.
He made this known while featuring on a private radio station, Rave FM in Osogbo during a Yoruba political programme, ‘Oro Oselu’ on Tuesday.
According to Akande, “Both Oyetola and Aregbesola are my children, they will be calm and patience, they will be happy like me. No single person can build or destroy the politics of Osun state but I am sure that character determines friendship, I am sure that the animosity between them will grow weak, the one who is aggrieved will be appeased.
“In no distance time, they will work together. In 2020, they brought the fight before me and I tried my best, when it went bad, I risked my life to reconcile them, I got to know about their fight during COVID-19.
” I was surprised, I called them for a meeting, they ended the fighting in my presence but still continued with it after they left. I discovered that their followers were angry, I started calling them federal constituencies by constituencies to meet with stakeholders.
“I set up committees, this was during COVID-19. I am old, if I contract the virus, the chance of me surviving is slim but for these people they have high chances of surviving it. I risked my life to reconcile them.
“I called two of them to my residence and I invited President Tinubu to witness the meeting. I expended a lot of money and energy to reconcile them. Nevertheless, it never ended. I am only praying for them.”
Akande added that It was not the bickering between Oyetola and Aregbesola that caused APC to lost Osun State, saying, “APC almost lost the state before the the fight began, remember APC won through rerun in 2018. In 2022, APC has additional 120,000 votes more than that of 2018. It is clear that it is destined. Anybody who claimed that it is the fight, it is a lie.”
