THE Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said it was not formally briefed about the inauguration of the state Presidential Campaign Committee for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The party disclosed this on Thursday in a statement signed by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, following the announcement of the committee’s inauguration and the appointment of Governor Ademola Adeleke as its state coordinator.
The APC said it regarded Tinubu’s re-election as a collective responsibility that required the involvement of party leaders, members and supporters across Osun State.
“In as much as we consider the re-election of the national leader of our party, President Tinubu, as a collective task which we have been working vigorously and assiduously to achieve through various means, it is our view and conviction that such an exercise should be properly scheduled,” the statement said.
Lawal said the inauguration concerned the re-election of Nigeria’s president under the APC and should be handled with the appropriate official protocol and planning.
The chairman said the party learnt about the committee’s membership through a list published on social media by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are reiterating the fact that we did not have the knowledge of any inauguration beyond the social media listing of some names yesterday afternoon by the spokesman of Governor Adeleke,” the statement said.
The APC expressed concern that the notice period was too short, arguing that less than 12 hours’ notice could prevent party leaders and supporters who wished to attend from making the necessary arrangements.
It also questioned the publication of the committee’s membership less than 24 hours before the event, saying there had been no prior meeting with the party’s leadership in the state.
Lawal said the process could create an avoidable misunderstanding between the Osun APC and Adeleke, who was appointed to coordinate Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the state.
“In our view, the current arrangement of the said state Presidential Campaign Committee was designed to stoke and promote an avoidable misunderstanding between our party and the appointed state coordinator of the campaign in the state,” he said.
Despite its concerns, the APC maintained that it supported Tinubu’s re-election bid and was not opposed to arrangements intended to strengthen the campaign.
“We are reiterating the fact that we are not opposed to conceding anything for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming presidential election but our concern is that things should be done in a proper way to achieve desired results,” the statement said.
The party also acknowledged that Adeleke’s appointment could help Tinubu’s re-election campaign through cooperation among the political parties involved, while insisting that proper consultation and coordination were necessary.