Former chairman of Boripe LG, Alhaji Kareem Afolabi of Iragbiji, and top APC leader from Boripe Local government today accordingly decamped to the Accord, pledged full support for Governor Adeleke's re-election.
The significance of this development is anchored on the key description that the man is known as the backbone of Oyetola at Iragbiji. In grassroots politics, a backbone represents structure, mobilization capacity and dependable influence. When such a figure abandons Oyetola, it suggests that the political structure once considered firm in Iragbiji and Boripe Local Government may no longer be intact.
In a symbolic moment, the Osun State Chairman of Accord and Governor Ademola Adeleke presented the party flag to him, formally welcoming him into the fold and signaling a new political chapter. The presentation of the party flag elevated the decamping from a routine political movement to a structured realignment, publicly acknowledged and sealed.
Other 15 prominent leaders followed Hon Afolabi to abandon Oyetola and Ambo. The movement of 15 leaders alongside him indicates coordinated political action. It reflects collective calculation rather than isolated defection, reinforcing the depth of the shift within Boripe.
As Minister of Marine, water behind the fish of the marine man seems to be drained. The metaphor speaks to declining leverage and weakening grassroots hold. Political strength at the federal level does not automatically translate to sustained local loyalty, especially when local dynamics begin to change.
You cannot be a sadist and expect support of your victims. Political nemesis is catching up with the man who has been inflicting suffering on the people, the workers and masses he's torturing by hijacking LG funds illegally. When local government funds are hijacked illegally, the direct impact is felt at the grassroots, among workers and communities. Over time, such actions shape political consequences.
Oyetola has never won Adeleke in any credible, free and fair election. Even in the last election, Oyetola won only 1 out of the 10 LGs in his Osun Central Senatorial District. Those electoral realities further contextualize the present development. When electoral performance in one’s own senatorial district reflects limited dominance, and influential local figures begin to abandon ship, it reinforces the narrative of eroding home advantage.
Instructively, the Iragbiji defection rupturing Oyetola home advantage suggests that the political tide within the area is shifting. When the man described as the backbone of Oyetola at Iragbiji now pledges full support for Governor Adeleke's re-election, and 15 other leaders follow to abandon Oyetola and Ambo, it signals a recalibration whose implications may extend beyond Boripe Local Government.