Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, was conspicuously absent from the Osun State Governorship Election on Saturday, Premium Politics reports.
The former governor who has been at loggerheads with his successor, Gbeyega Oyetola, travelled abroad to attend a conference.
Aregbesola’s aide said the minister boycotted the election to avoid a crisis.
Aregbesola had publicly moved against the second-term ambition of Oyetola and endorsed his former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti, who later lost to the incumbent at the APC primary held on February 19.
When contacted, Aregbesola’s media adviser, Sola Fasure, confirmed the minister’s absence.
“He proceeded on an official assignment on Friday,” Fasure said.
The media aide noted that Aregbesola was not invited to work for Oyetola’s second-term bid in Osun.
He also said the minister was not named in the Osun State campaign team by the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “Aregbesola is not in Oshogbo. He is on an official assignment. He was not invited and not a part of the election council. The governor did not also invite him to be part of the campaign.”