The Rasaq Salinsile faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has announced that the appeal committee on the party’s 2022 gubernatorial primary election in the State remains a rumour.

The faction, which has the backing of Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior and former governor of Osun State, also announced that their aspirant, Moshood Adeoti and his lawyers were never informed or invited to appear before any panel to defend the petition against the election.

Making this known via a press statement signed by Abiodun Agboola, the faction’s Publicity Secretary, the group maintained that it would be an act of impunity and total disregard to democratic process if truly the appeal committee had sat and dismissed Adeoti’s appeal without due process.

According to the statement, “Alhaji Adeoti participated in the governorship primary and was rigged out with impunity by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, who manipulated the election process in his own favour because he is a member of the National Caretaker and Extra Ordinary Convention Planning Committee that organized the primary.

“In line with the guideline and timetable of the primary, Alhaji Adeoti filed a petition to the Osun APC governorship primary election Appeal Committee on Tuesday, February 22.

“His lawyers were at the National Secretariat of the APC on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the aim of knowing and meeting the Appeal Committee. They were told that the National Secretariat was yet to constitute the committee and up till now, we are not aware of any Appeal Committee on the Osun APC governorship primary.

“We are, however, surprised to read the junks, or better put, rumour on social media that the Appeal Committee had sat and dismissed Alhaji Adeoti’s petition. We urge the general public to disregard such rumour.”

The Osun APC had conducted its gubernatorial primary election on Saturday, February 19, 2022, which the incumbent governor of the State, Adegboyega Oyetola won with a vote of 222,169, as against 12, 921 votes for Moshood Adeoti, a former Secretary to the State Government and 460 for Lasun Yusuf, a former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives.

Prior to the exercise, there had been confrontations between the leadership of the two factions in the Osun APC.

The Rasaq Salinsile faction which is mostly populated by members of The Osun Progressive (TOP) have accused the IleriOluwa faction, which has the support of Governor Oyetola of hijacking the party.