Prince Oyinlola is a major stakeholder in the party (APC); remember he was the secretary of the New PDP, a key component of the APC at the formative stage, he is also a member of the party's Board of Trustees.
He not only remains in the party but has also been silently working very hard to ensure its growth, stabily and unity in the face of recent challenges.
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| Prince Oyinlola |
Politicians and footballers have a thing in common: they can both never be trusted. If a politician or a footballer says 'good morning', chances are high it's dusk — not dawn.
Who would forget how Chilean footballer Alexis Sanchez was on the verge of joining Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in January, only to stunning claim, after joining Manchester United days later, that his "dream since he was a young lad was to play for Manchester United"? What about Philippe Coutinho, the Brazilian who signed a bumper deal at Liverpool in January 2017 only to hand in a transfer request once Barcelona came calling six months later?
Politics is similar, too. Aisha Alhassan, Minister for Women Affairs, "swore by Allah" to resign once Buhari announces his intention to seek re-election, because definite 2019 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is her Godfather and she could never — as she made us believe — support anyone but him. It is now more than a month since Buhari formally declared his second-term ambition; Alhassan is still in office. Perhaps she will resign tomorrow.
If Alhassan is still in office, why should anyone be surprised that Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor of Osun State, has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) — 10 months after he publicly denied rumours of his impending departure from the party?
On July 31, 2017, Oyinlola's Secretary, Kazeem Adio, releasing a statement authorised by his principal, claimed reports of his boss's planned exit from APC were being circulated by "some faceless elements in the polity who chould be ignored".
The statement further read: "Prince Oyinlola is a major stakeholder in the party (APC); remember he was the secretary of the New PDP, a key component of the APC at the formative stage, he is also a member of the party's Board of Trustees. He not only remains in the party but has also been silently working very hard to ensure its growth, stabily and unity in the face of recent challenges.
"As a leader in Osun State who is at home with all segments of the society, Prince Oyinlola's major concern at the moment is how to strengthen the party, make it get closer to the people and continue to make their welfare a priority. The people of Osun State can get their interest better served by remaining with the APC."
Although the purpose of that statement was to debunk the exit rumours, anyone who read it analytically would have understood that the most important sentence is the last: "The people of Osun State can get their interest better served by remaining with the APC."
It should have been clear at once to the discerning that Oyinlola would only stay in APC for as long as his interest was served. At the moment, his personal interest lies elsewhere, hence his much-vaunted party loyalty has gone up in flames.
Can anyone be surprised, therefore? Politics is, after all, a game of interests!
