Osun IPAC disowns members on Adeleke’s PCC list

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Osun State has disowned individuals listed as representatives of political parties in the Osun Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) by Governor Ademola Adeleke, the state coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s campaign council. In a statement issued on Tuesday and endorsed by 11 political parties, Osun IPAC said the individuals listed as its representatives were acting on their own and had not been authorised to represent the council.

The parties include Action Alliance, National Rescue Movement, Action Democratic Party, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Social Democratic Party and National Democratic Party. Others are Democratic Leadership Alliance, African Action Congress, Labour Party, Zenith Labour Party and All Progressives Grand Alliance. An advertorial signed by Adeleke and published in a national newspaper had listed Odeleye Titus, Faribido Benson, Enorch Olalekan, Adetunji Olubunmi, Prince Adesoji Adeleke and Rev.

Olatunji Popoola as IPAC representatives in the Osun PCC. However, the council said the inclusion of their names was misleading and could create confusion over its representation. “We wish to state categorically and for the record, that the persons whose names were paraded as IPAC members in the said council are not our representatives, nor were they, at any point in time, nominated or authorised by the council to represent us in any capacity,” the statement said.

IPAC described itself as a structured body with recognised leadership and member political parties, insisting that any representation must follow due process and official communication from its secretariat. The council said it completely dissociated itself from the list, warning against using its name to score political points or create a false impression of broad-based acceptance.

It also urged President Tinubu not to recognise the individuals listed as its representatives in the Osun PCC, insisting that its legitimate stakeholders were parties with strong grassroots presence across the state’s local government areas. “We are the majority members of IPAC in Osun State with strong grassroots presence across all local governments, and any engagement with IPAC in the state should be through us,” the statement added.