July 11, (THEWILL) –The sad thing about betrayal is that it doesn’t come from an enemy. It is always those closest to you, those you look up to and those who vow to remain loyal despite all odds. These are the ones always quick to hit the betray button. This much is exactly the kind of scenario that has played out in the case of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, a former governor of Ogun State and his protege, Adekunle Akinlade, a former member of the House of Representatives. Akinlade who was the flagbearer of the Allied Progressives Movement (APM) in the 2019 governorship election in Ogun State, would never forget his experience with Amosun in a hurry. In fact, the period between 2019 and 2022 will remain indelible in his mind for the rest of his life.
When Amosun picked Akinlade in 2019 as his anointed candidate to succeed him towards the twilight of his tenure, many kicked against it. But the two remained focused or so it seemed and trudged on. When it looked like the party wasn’t going to give Akinlade the ticket, Amosun advised him and his loyalists to move to APM where he clinched the party ticket. However, he remained in the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the pretext of making Akinlade’s wishes come true by fighting for it as an insider in APC. Unfortunately, Dapo Abiodun trounced Akinlade at the polls.
On Amosun’s advice, Akinlade took Abiodun to court and pursued the case up till it got to the Supreme Court, where he lost. While Amosun who remained in APC got a Senatorial position at the end of the day, Akinlade was left out in the cold. To pacify him, Amosun wooed him back to APC, promising to help him fulfill his political aspirations, come 2023. Amosun asked him to bury his grievances and display the same courage and high sense of responsibility that kept ‘them, on the course of justice for two years.’
Believing Amosun, who was his mentor and political godfather afterall, Akinlade returned to the APC. A few months to the governorship primaries, rather than fulfill his promise to his protege with some early ground work, Amosun busied himself with obtaining a N100 million presidential form and declaration of interest form for a position he had no business contesting for. But Akinlade kept his eyes on the ball. He was certain 2023 was his time and he would emerge the flagbearer of APC in the governorship race. Alas, his plans boomeranged in his face. He reportedly scored no point in the primary. Feeling disenfranchised, Akinlade blamed the national leadership of the party for refusing to quell the internal crisis rocking the party that cost him his victory and allowing injustice to reign.
Reacting to his protege’s defeat shortly after renouncing his presidential aspiration for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Amosun wished Akinlade and his other loyalists well, saying that he would not stop any of his followers from achieving their political ambitions in any political party of their choice. He however maintained that he won’t go against the party, despite the perceived injustice meted out on ‘him’ and his loyalists adding that he plans to maintain his friendship with President Muhammadu Buhari, no matter what happened and promised to stay with him till the end of his administration on May 29, 2023 and even following him to Daura.
Also Amosun said he was preoccupied with making sure that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, emerged President of Nigeria in 2023. He therefore cautioned Akinlade and his other loyalists against using his name or that of his party structure as a bargaining chip in whatever sharing formula is being proposed by the party’s reconciliation committee.
Akinlade has however moved on and is now the running mate to Ladi Adebutu, the governorship candidate of a faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state.
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