The Osun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to be cautious of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Umar Ganduje, accusing him of working against Tinubu’s political stronghold in the Southwest.
In a statement issued by its State Chairman, Sunday Bisi, the party alleged that the APC Chairman was secretly aligning with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to weaken the ruling party in the North while stirring conflict in the Osun and Oyo states.
Describing Ganduje as a “Closet enemy” of President Tinubu, who is pushing a dangerous agenda that could destabilise the region, the PDP urged the presidency to beam its searchlight on the APC Chairman, warning that his actions and utterances could incite political unrest and undermine democratic stability in the southwest.
The party argued that Ganduje’s recent statements and political maneuvers suggest he is more concerned with creating divisions than addressing the growing internal crisis within the APC, particularly in the North, where the party has suffered major setbacks.
“It is high time the Presidency beams the searchlight on the APC Chairman as he not only lacks any hold on his North West zone but is acting in a way capable of inciting violence in the South West and undermining the democratic credential of Mr. President.
“Ganduje is a renowned enemy of democracy, and his unrepentant attitude boasting about hijacking and controlling the states in Nigeria as if APC is an annex of INEC shows that he fears PDP’s weight in Osun.
“Instead of focusing on how to salvage his party from disintegration, Ganduje is busy making reckless statements aimed at destabilizing the South West, which is the stronghold of President Tinubu,” the statement read.
The Osun PDP maintained that the state has seen significant progress under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration compared to the APC’s 12-year rule, dismissing any attempt to impose external political influence on Osun as futile.
“The people of Osun are not weaklings who can be remote-controlled from the APC national secretariat,” the party declared, emphasizing that Ganduje’s political posturing is a desperate attempt to remain relevant after losing his stronghold in Kano State.”
PDP further challenged Ganduje to focus on reclaiming Kano before making threats about controlling Osun, stating that his failure as governor and subsequent loss of the state to another party prove his inability to maintain political dominance.
“If at all Ganduje wants to claim states like he is busy focusing on Osun, why not start from Kano?”
Reaffirming its confidence in retaining power in Osun, the PDP assured its supporters that no amount of political intimidation from the APC chairman would deter the people’s will.
“We are not scared of Ganduje’s threat. When the time comes, we will come out victorious. We did it in 2022, and we’ll do it again in 2026,” the statement concluded.
