Former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, will not leave the All Progressives Congress (APC), his media office maintains, noting that he wants the party to publish the results of its Oyo State governorship primary.
The media office made both points in a press statement shared on Sunday. The statement was replying to a viral report that claimed he told Nigerians to reject the APC. The office calls that report false, misleading and malicious.
Winner named, no results shown
The office says the Oyo nomination process was marred by controversy. It claims a preferred aspirant was imposed and that the primary results were not openly released.
Adelabu has questioned the logic of this, the office says. He asks how a party can name a winner without releasing results and then set up a reconciliation committee to calm aggrieved members.
“The APC governorship nomination process in Oyo State was marred by controversies, including the alleged imposition of a preferred aspirant without the transparent release of the primary election results. Despite his grievances, Adelabu has repeatedly declared at various fora that he has no intention of leaving the APC, that his political ambition is not a do-or-die affair, and that he remains loyal to the party and Mr President,” the media office said.
The office says the standards Nigerians expect from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should also guide party primaries. INEC is the body that runs national elections.
It says Adelabu’s position is that loyalty does not rule out a demand for fairness, openness and respect for democratic principles. His office calls it mischievous to twist that demand into a call to reject the APC.
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The office says he has told several forums that he will not leave the party. It says he has also said his ambition is not a “do-or-die affair”. It says he is loyal to the party and to the President.
Adelabu left public office on his own to chase the governorship ticket, the statement says. It says he had pursued major reforms in the power sector as minister, and that the gains are slowly showing.
Viral clip is from 2022, says his office
The office says a video now spreading online is cut from an interview Adelabu gave in 2022. He was then the Accord Party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State.
In that interview, it says, he said political parties had disappointed Nigerians. He said voters should look harder at the credibility and character of individual candidates.
The office says he backed the presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at that time, though he ran on another party’s platform. It says the clip was never a call to reject the APC or oppose Tinubu.
It challenges those sharing the video to publish the full interview, unedited. It accuses them of picking out lines and presenting them out of context.
The office also says Adelabu has granted no media interview with the alleged words since the Oyo nomination process ended. It says someone is putting words in his mouth that he neither said nor approved.
The Tinubu relationship
The statement says Adelabu’s bond with President Tinubu goes beyond party politics. It says the two share respect, trust and affection, and that Adelabu has spoken of it in father-and-son terms.
It says the relationship is still cordial. It says no fake report, political blackmail or deliberate misrepresentation can break it.
The office asks the public, APC members and the media to check facts before sharing. It says anyone making the claim should produce verifiable evidence. It tells people to trust only statements from Adelabu or his authorised representatives.
WHAT READERS SHOULD KNOW
The statement is signed by the Media Office of Chief Adebayo A. Adelabu and shared on Sunday.
The office says the full 2022 interview is the test. It wants it published so people can judge the words in context.
“We challenge those circulating the video to publish the full interview, unedited, rather than selectively extracting statements and presenting them out of context to advance a malicious political narrative,” the statement read.
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