Politics

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: SEPARATING POLITICAL FACTS FROM MANUFACTURED NARRATIVES AND BASELESS SPECULATIONS

Published by admin on November 9th, 2026.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: SEPARATING POLITICAL FACTS FROM MANUFACTURED NARRATIVES AND BASELESS SPECULATIONS

We ordinarily would not dignify every manufactured narrative with a response. Indeed, we are occupied with far more consequential political engagements than entertaining the daily distractions of individuals who appear to have made Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke the central subject of their political existence.

However, we have elected to respond to this particular publication, dated 9th November 2026 and authored by Sodiq Lawal on behalf of POCO, not because it deserves the attention it seeks, but because it represents yet another distortion from the same purveyor in recent times. Our reason is simple: when falsehood is allowed to circulate unchallenged in the public space for too long, repetition can gradually acquire the appearance of truth. Silence, therefore, must never be mistaken for admission, endorsement, or confirmation.

Let us make one thing abundantly clear: we are busy beyond distractions. Our team is on the field, engaging voters from door to door and prosecuting the re-election project of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Our political priorities are clearly defined, and they are certainly not dictated by the daily anxieties of opposition campaign writers.

We are neither surprised nor particularly disturbed by the apparent discomfort that Hon. Oluwole Oke’s growing political acceptance seems to generate in certain quarters. Interestingly, the persistent mudslinging has only amplified our principal’s public visibility and political mileage. From our engagements across the constituency, there is an increasing sense of fatigue among the electorate over the endless attacks on Oke. The people want conversations about ideas, representation, performance, and development, not an endless catalogue of manufactured controversies and political frustrations arising from the prospect of electoral defeat.

Hon. Oluwole Oke is certainly not losing sleep over this emerging trade in political mischief. Neither will he expend his valuable time attempting to rescue those who have willingly chosen to remain prisoners of their own misconceptions.

For the avoidance of doubt, Hon. Oluwole Oke has neither publicly declared nor privately initiated any discussion about contesting for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. He has not made such an ambition a subject of negotiation at any political gathering or private meeting.

Yes, such an aspiration may have featured in political conversations within our political family at an earlier period when prevailing circumstances made such discussions expedient. However, to excavate an old conversation, strip it of its original context, manufacture a present ambition around it, and subsequently construct an elaborate theory of electoral sabotage is neither political intelligence nor investigative journalism. It is intellectual dishonesty.

A basic understanding of the political realities and constitutional processes governing the emergence of principal officers of the National Assembly would have spared the authors of this publication considerable embarrassment. Apparently, even a basic current-affairs lesson would have been sufficient to expose the intellectual weakness of their argument.

The questions are straightforward:

Who announced that Oke is contesting for Speaker? Where and when did he declare such an ambition? Whom has he approached? Which meeting has he attended to negotiate this alleged ambition?

Rather than provide verifiable answers, POCO has constructed an elaborate conspiracy theory around an ambition its principal subject has neither declared nor pursued.

More troubling is the attempt to suggest that Oke must necessarily work against President Tinubu to pursue an office he has not even expressed an intention to contest. This is an extraordinary conclusion built entirely on an imaginary premise.

Our political position is neither ambiguous nor negotiable. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is our party, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our leader and father in the political family.

In Obokun/Oriade, we have five candidates on our political priority list, and our commitment to their electoral success is unequivocal:

1. 𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗪𝗔𝗝𝗨 𝗕𝗢𝗟𝗔 𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗕𝗨 : For re-election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

2. 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗕𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗜: For re-election as Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District.

3. 𝗛𝗢𝗡. 𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗔𝗬𝗢 𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗞𝗘 (𝗕𝗢𝗢): For re-election as a member representing the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

4. 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙. 𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗢 𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗨𝗡: To represent Oriade State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly.

5. 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗬𝗜 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟: To represent Obokun State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly.

These are our candidates. These are our brands. These are our political priorities.

We know where we belong, whom we support, and the political future we are working to build.

Those who believe political allegiance is determined exclusively by the number of years spent in a political party should understand that party membership alone is not a substitute for commitment, loyalty, competence, political relevance, or electoral value.

The APC is a political family, not a private inheritance. Its strength lies in its capacity to accommodate new entrants, build strategic alliances, harness diverse political interests, and mobilise collective strength towards electoral victory.

There is a fundamental contradiction in POCO’s latest publication. On the one hand, it attempts to portray Hon. Oke as a politician without the capacity for higher political responsibility. On the other hand, it devotes considerable attention, energy, and intellectual resources to an alleged ambition it simultaneously insists he cannot achieve.

Why should a man supposedly lacking political capacity become the recurring subject of a campaign organisation’s publications?

Why is every attempt to market the credentials, capacity, and manifesto of their preferred candidate seemingly dependent on mentioning Hon. Oluwole Oke?

A campaign confident in its candidate should possess sufficient substance to communicate its message without constantly seeking relevance through another man’s name.

If there are demonstrable achievements, present them. If there are development programs, articulate them. If there is a credible legislative agenda, let the electorate examine it.

But making Oke the recurring subject of political attacks only exposes the paucity of ideas and substantive issues available for discussion.

We have absolutely no objection to anyone campaigning for a preferred candidate. That is democracy. What we find objectionable is the deliberate substitution of falsehood, insinuation, and character assassination for constructive political engagement.

There is an enduring political lesson: those who spend too much time defining their opponents eventually forget to define themselves. You cannot build a credible political brand entirely around the perceived weaknesses of another person. Neither can you demonstrate your candidate’s capacity by endlessly manufacturing controversies around another candidate.

That is not political strategy; it is a desperate search for relevance. And certainly, you cannot convince an electorate that you have a better vision for tomorrow by spending every day recycling yesterday’s noise.

Hon. Oluwole Oke’s political journey, legislative experience, and public engagements are matters the electorate can independently assess. He does not need to participate in every manufactured controversy to validate his political standing.

𝗢𝗱𝘂 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗸𝗲, 𝗞𝗶 𝗦𝗲 𝗔𝗶𝗺𝗼 𝗙’𝗢𝗹𝗼𝗸𝗼!

Wole Oke is a household name whose political identity, experience, and constituency presence cannot be diminished by anyone’s inordinate ambition, manufactured narratives, or penchant for political intimidation.

We also recognise the familiar political practice of attempting to perch on another hen’s eggs and mistake borrowed visibility for personal political strength. But political relevance cannot be permanently borrowed; it must be earned through credibility, performance, consistency, and genuine engagement with the people.

Our message is simple. Our assignment is defined, and our focus remains unwavering. We are building relationships, mobilising support, engaging communities, and taking our message directly to the electorate. That is where our energy is invested, and that is where our attention will remain.

We appreciate the unintended publicity these persistent attacks have generated. Nevertheless, we advise their authors to redirect the energy expended on Oke towards explaining what their own candidate intends to offer the people of Obokun/Oriade.

Our principal will not be distracted, intimidated, or drawn into an unnecessary war of words. He will remain focused on his political responsibilities, constituency engagements, and the collective electoral success of our great party, the APC.

Let those who wish to trade in mudslinging continue. We will trade in mobilisation, engagement, strategic organisation and electoral victory.

By God’s grace, we remain committed to delivering our five political priorities in the forthcoming 2027 election cycle in Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency.

After all, the ultimate verdict in a democracy does not belong to campaign spokespersons, social media commentators, cynics, political hecklers, purveyors of falsehood, or merchants of propaganda. It belongs to the electorate.

𝙒𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙊𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚. 𝙒𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙋𝘾.

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱:

𝗢𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗶-𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲
𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗲
𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁
𝗙𝗼𝗿: 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗼 𝗢𝗹𝘂𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗸𝗲
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀
𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗙𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮