Ogun State APC Chieftain and 3rd Republic House of Representatives member, Prince Segun Seriki, has faulted an article titled “YAYI AND OGUN EAST POLITICS, THE FOLLY OF THE WISEST” by Kolade Segun-Okeowo, describing it as “fallacious and laden with emotional blackmail”.
In a rejoinder, Seriki, former National Publicity Secretary of the National Centre Party of Nigeria, NCPN, said that he was compelled to respond after the article, which he initially thought was for an “in-house platform, OGD 2027 and Beyond,” was posted on Facebook.
According to him, the piece distorted facts around the engagement between Senator Solomon Adeola, Yayi, and members of the Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD, political group in Ogun East.
Seriki clarified that the visit of Sen. Yayi to Asoludero Court was “in all intents and purposes politically successful”.
“HE Sen. Otunba Gbenga Daniel, after an initial closed-door meeting with the Yayi entourage, in which I was present, later openly in an enlarged hall unreservedly endorsed the candidature of Sen. Adeola Yayi before his followers,” he stated.
He alleged that following the endorsement, a division emerged among OGD coordinators.
“Some started insinuating that there was still a decision to make between our party’s gubernatorial candidate, APC Sen. Adeola Yayi, and the opposition PDP candidate, subject to the approval of HE Sen. OGD,” Seriki said.
He explained that this created “two classifications”:
1. Those wishing to unconditionally support the APC candidate, Sen. Yayi.
2. Those waiting for their leader’s approval to decide between Yayi and PDP.
“As a Yayi ally and APC loyalist, I chose to relate going forward with the coordinators who unconditionally wish to support our candidate without prejudice to what later becomes the decision of those waiting on their leader,” he added.
Seriki said coordinators with reservations were left out of the new group arrangement christened YAYI RELIABLES.
“An overwhelming majority of the OGD Coordinators and 5 Pillars from the LGA up to the wards are currently actively working within YAYI RELIABLES for their political emancipation with deserving self-esteem and hope for life progress within the incoming government of Sen. Yayi, by God’s grace,” he stated.
On Segun-Okeowo’s involvement, Seriki said he was surprised given his “personal intimacy with HE Sen. OGD.”
“I called him and he confirmed my suspicion but insisted that he loves Yayi and is resolved to support him but wants me to assist him manage his OGD loyalty. I said OK, no problem,” he recalled.
Seriki said trouble started after “a somewhat funny audio recording linking HE Sen. OGD with unbelievable anti-Yayi mischievous antics was leaked,” which made some OGD loyalists now in YAYI RELIABLES fear they would not be trusted by Sen. Yayi.
“I consulted Sen. Yayi over this fear and he confirmed unreservedly that he holds nothing against these folks. He even offered to meet with them,” Seriki said.
He added that during the meeting arranged with Sen. Yayi, Segun-Okeowo “surprised everyone by raising the already resolved issue and again shedding tears profusely in an emotional bid of showing commitment to the Yayi cause.”
Seriki defended the decision by the majority of coordinators to remove Segun-Okeowo and three others from the platform.
“If subsequently, the majority of these coordinators found Kolade Segun-Okeowo and three others wanting, to warrant removing them from their platform that has clearly stated goals, why the fuss??? What is wrong with that???” he asked.
He further stated that he excluded “for political exigencies” details of actions allegedly aimed at frustrating pro-Yayi loyalists within the OGD group.
Seriki warned that any APC member still waiting for direction on whether to support APC or PDP “is taking a feasibly terrible gamble and showing unreasonable loyalty in outright disservice to judicious self-interest.”
“Expecting Sen. Adeola Yayi to hand over his political affairs to those who seek to hedge their bet with open romance with the opposition PDP is akin to asking him ‘to suffer fool gladly’,” he said.
He noted that Sen. Yayi had repeatedly stated his preference for “ward by ward political engagements for wider reach” and urged all stakeholders to respect that approach.
“By God’s grace, this Yayi cause shall end in praise,” Seriki concluded.