With the announcement today of the appointment of Mr Joseph Tegbe as the DG of Nigeria-China Relations, it becomes clear that Oyo APC must have committed an unforgivable sin against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As of the time Joseph Tegbe’s appointment was announced, he was and remains a card-carrying member of the PDP.
Joseph Tegbe left Oyo APC in 2023 to join PDP when it was clear to him that he stood no chance of picking the governorship ticket of the APC.
Since President Bola Tinubu has been in the presidency, he has been marginalizing Oyo APC in the scheme of appointments, depriving many APC members who worked assiduously, at no cost, towards his emergence as Nigerian president of rewards for their efforts. President Tinubu got 449,844 votes in Oyo State to win Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi in the presidential election. This feat by the Oyo APC should mean that its members must be made to reap the benefits of working for the success of the party.
It is no doubt that Joseph Tegbe is eminently qualified for the appointment. It does not mean that there are no Oyo APC members who are as qualified and competent as Tegbe for the job. This isn’t the first time President Tinubu would go outside of the party. He brought the present Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, from the Accord Party to become the minister representing Oyo State; though he later rejoined APC, he deserted at the last minute because of political grievance.
It is not clear yet what Oyo APC must have done to offend President Tinubu to warrant this shabbily political treatment. President Tinubu was not known to be vindictive as some of those who had in the past stabbed him in the back are currently with him. Why is it different with Oyo APC or Senator Teslim Folarin who was said not to be a staunch supporter of President Tinubu during the last presidential primary? Could Oyo APC have been paying for the alleged indiscretion of Senator Folarin for not supporting President Tinubu during the primary? Were the mammoth votes given to the President by Oyo APC members not enough atonement for the ‘unforgivable’ sin that might have been committed against the president? Or is Tegbe’s appointment a confirmation of Minister Nyesom Wike’s revelation that some PDP governors submitted names to President Tinubu for appointments, in this case, Tegbe being a nominee of Governor Seyi Makinde?
APC members in Oyo State have been making criticisms, complaints, and pleas that it is just right and fair to allow them to reap where they had sown. A message is being passed that party loyalty counts for nothing. There is an affirmation that the reward system in APC is poor. Yet, President Tinubu appears to be playing ‘Aṣakẹ’ whose ears no longer hear criticisms, pleas, and complaints.
Morufu Smith writes from Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
