Aregbesola Asked Me To Step Down To Ensure APC’s Victory In 2018 – Prof. Adeyeye

A former federal lawmaker and elder statesman in Osun State, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, has revealed that he stepped down from contesting a third term in the Senate to ensure the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2018 governorship election.

Adeyeye, who made the disclosure while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, stated that although many prominent figures in the party urged him to seek re-election, former Osun State Governor and immediate past Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, advised him otherwise.

He explained that Aregbesola told him Osun’s political situation at the time required some people to make sacrifices.

“My senatorial constituency was the strongest for our party, and I came from the smallest local government. If I had contested, I would have won without any problem, but it might not have been easy for us to win the governorship,” Adeyeye said.

The former lawmaker, who served as the Senate Chief Whip, further revealed that he was close to becoming the Deputy Senate President but was denied the position due to ethnic considerations.

According to him, despite being the most senior senator from the ruling party in the South, the APC opted against his emergence because the Vice President was already from his ethnic group, and the party had also conceded the House of Representatives Speaker position to the Yoruba.