How Tinubu Is Funding PDP
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Indications have also emerged regarding how the National Leader of the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been
secretly funding the governorship bid of a Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) governorship aspirant, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi.
A source within the APC through its former National Vice Chairman
(South West), Chief Pius Akinyelure recently told the gathering of
selected youths at an informal gathering in Lagos that Tinubu who is a
known business associate of Ogunbiyi has so far committed the princely
sum of N1b to his (Ogunbiyi’s) campaign efforts in the last few
months.
Akinyelure who is an highly placed member of the APC in the zone and
long time best friend of Asiwaju Tinubu told the Youths that the move
forms part of Tinubu’s political strategy to ensure victory for the
ruling APC during the forthcoming governorship poll in the State.
The APC chieftain and long time best friend of Tinubu maintained that
Tinubu being conscious of the importance of the two governorship polls
in Ekiti and Osun States to the fortunes of the party in the South
West is leaving no stone unturned and has been deploying all
strategies in his arsenal to ensure that the two states are within the
control of the APC.
It has initially been reported that Ogunbiyi has been planted into the
PDP as a dummy candidate who is expected to pick the ticket of the
party and eventually slow down his campaign efforts to pave the way
for the emergence of whoever the APC picks as its flag bearer.
The APC chieftain specifically singled out Osun State where the
leaders of the party, including Governor Rauf Aregbesola were working
round the clock to ensure that there would not be fall out of the
party stalwarts and members after the July 7th APC governorship
primary.
“Tinubu has been helping the party (APC) by sponsoring a dummy
candidate as an aspirant, the person is Ogunbiyi whom Tinubu has given
the sum of N1billion to secure the guber ticket of the main opposition
political party (PDP) in the State,” he said.
He gave the breakdown of the sum released to Ogunbiyi saying an
initial sum of N500million was released to him (Ogunbiyi) by Tinubu,
while the remaining balance of N500 million would be released to him
after the July 7th APC guber primary.
He further disclosed that once the PDP fields Ogunbiyi as its guber
candidate, Tinubu believes that the APC would have overcame its first
political hurdle in the State, adding that the person that would be
the flag bearer of the PDP has been giving the ruling party a
sleepless night since all this while, adding that “Osun people would
observe that it is only Ogunbiyi that located his campaign office
among the APC guber aspirants in the State capital”.
“You and I know that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the APC
to have easy ride over the opposition PDP. Even at the height of our
party’s popularity, we have always struggled to beat the PDP. The
outcome of the last senatorial election in the state has become a
referendum of sorts and the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been doing some
calculations and one of such calculations was the need to hijack the
PDP by ensuring that a candidate from the camp of Tinubu is planted
within the party. When that is done, the leadership of the APC would
now starve him of funds with a view to ensure smooth sail for the
APC’s candidate.” he stated.
Commenting on the development, a chieftain of the PDP in Osun State,
Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, stated that the news of Ogunbiyi’s romance
with the opposition was not new to their camp and every member of the
PDP in the state.
Akinleye who is a supporter of another governorship aspirant in the
PDP,Senator Ademola Adeleke said: “We are not surprised because all
these antics were allowed in politics as part of political strategy to
defeat an opposition in an electoral tussle. This is high time for
Osun PDP leaders and party delegates to do away with Ogunbiyi because
of havocs it might wreck on our great party. Victory is sure for our
great party at the poll if PDP would not use ‘Ajele’ to confront
‘Ajele’ of APC”.
Defending his principal, a close political associate of Ogunbiyi, Mr.
Abiodun Ojo (popularly known as Fafa) in a discussion with few
believers of Ogunbiyi’s guber aspiration to govern the State, noted
that there was nothing bad in Ogunbiyi been the business associate of
Bola Tinubu, adding that business is the soul of political governance.
He submitted that it is even good to use political office to protect
ones business and this is what has been invoked in the world over now.
Ojo concluded that the suggestion that Tinubu is sponsoring Ogunbiyi
might not be true but a tale being orchestrated by our political
enemies, particularly, from Ede axis of the state.
