The Osun State Chairman of the ruling Accord, Pastor Victor Babalola Akande, has lampooned the opposition All Progressives Congress over its curious decision to appoint Mr Wole Oke as Director General of its campaign council, describing the move as “a tragic comedy that exposes the party’s complete collapse of credibility.”
Pastor Akande said the APC, having run out of respectable faces, has now resorted to what he termed “a symbol of crass ineptitude and controversy” to sell what is already a rejected political product to the people of Osun State.
“It is both laughable and disgraceful that a party seeking the trust of the people would anchor its campaign on an individual persistently trailed by allegations of fraud, abuse of office, breach of trust and financial impropriety across MDAs and public institutions, as evidenced by several undenied publications by credible news platforms in the country ” Akande stated.
He noted that rather than rebuild its battered image, the APC has chosen to deepen public distrust by elevating a figure whose record in public service has been a subject of sustained scrutiny and damaging reports in the public space.
“What the APC has done is to officially adopt fraud and controversy as its campaign ideology. When a party proudly hands over its campaign to a man many perceive as synonymous with questionable dealings and alleged phantom empowerment schemes, it tells you everything you need to know about their readiness for governance,” he added.
“It is on record that very recently, several former aides of Hon Wole Oke publicly accused him of many unethical and potentially criminal conduct including forgery of their signatures on security documents and incorporating companies through proxies to defraud his innocent constituents”
While it is understood that the APC in Osun is faced with a dearth of quality manpower, one would have expected that the party would be more cautious in entrusting the task of selling a hard candidate to a poor marketer in the person of Mr Oke.
Thats not all, a viral publication of Premium Times of September 5, 2023, had exposed Wole Oke and his chain of corruption at the lower chambers of the national assembly, with damning revelations of how he did deploy a staff of His Lead British International School, one Ms Adoga as a conduit for illicit transactions
Parts of the excract from the publication in the Premium Times are hereby reproduced with the news link also provided for a more robust reading and understanding of the fraud Apc has found worthy of anchoring its campaign:
The Premium Times Account
“We had in our initial report indicated that all heads of federal tertiary institutions were asked to deposit N2 million naira bribe each into an account domiciled in Providus Bank. But it has since become clear that only university vice-chancellors were given that bank account. Rectors and provosts were smarter – they were able to pay N3 million naira each to the committee using different methodologies that made the illicit payments harder to trace.
“Back to LBIS. So, who owns the school, and what is its relationship with the bribery scheme? Founded on 24 January 2008, LBIS is 75 per cent owned by Oluwole Oke, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of Osun State, who moved the motion that led to the creation of the investigative committee and who became very active at the panel’s public hearings”
“Mr Ishaya and Ms Adoga soon began to communicate by telephone. Ms Adoga then contacted Mr Sambo of Ama Business Solution, requesting him to ready an account into which some naira payments could be made for conversion to dollars. She did not tell the businessman who would make the payments and how much would be paid. She only told Mr Sambo to ready the account number and await a call….”
Nigerian lawmakers probing job racketeering are extorting money https://share.google/j4pr6JaHLv40rfIga
INVESTIGATION: How lawmakers, vice-chancellors hired BDC operator for extortion, bribery scheme https://share.google/VnD4VTIgDKQ31zAdN
Nigerians, particularly the good people of Osun State should note that allegations contained in the investigative report against Wole Oke, has not been been controverted by way of dragging Premium Times to court till this moment.
The Accord Chairman further mocked the opposition for what he described as a “self-inflicted political disaster,” stressing that no amount of noise-making or propaganda can make such a choice appealing to the discerning electorate of Osun State.
“Osun voters are not gullible. They should not be taken for Apc populated scallywags either. You cannot package what people already know and expect them to forget. This is not just poor judgment, it is a clear sign that the APC has exhausted both ideas and integrity,” he said.
Pastor Akande emphasized that while the APC continues to recycle congenital fraudsters, the people of Osun remain firmly aligned with tested leadership, visible performance, and people-oriented governance exemplified by His Excellency, Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke.
“This latest move by the APC is not just a frsutration induced error, it is a confession. A confession that they have nothing new to offer, nothing credible to present, and no better faces to put forward than a discredited charlatan like Wole Oke” he concluded.
