Former Majority Leader of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Samuel Adejumobi ‘Agbarapo’, has reacted to a political group loyal to former lawmaker, Senator Hosea Agboola, describing recent publication credited to them as “a cocktail of deliberate falsehood and frustration-driven mischief” aimed at rewriting the political history of Oyo State.
Agbarapo, who spoke through a voice note forwarded to westernmirror.com.ng on Saturday, said the group’s claim that former Governors Rashidi Ladoja now the Olubadan of Ibadanland, late Adebayo Alao-Akala, and the incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde got their governorship tickets through the influence of Halleluyah was “a desperate attempt to elevate fiction over fact and to grant political sainthood to a politician whose record in public service remains abysmal in Oke-ogun geopolitical zone.”
The Halleluyah group was quoted in the said publication as saying “Agbarapo who claimed to be an experienced politician in his recent outburst failed woefully in 2019 PDP house of representatives primaries as he could hardly get 50 votes while the man he described as inexperience, the immediate past chairman of ATISBO Local Government, Hon. Fasasi Adeagbo popularly known as AMIFAS garnered 126 votes to contest for national assembly.
“It is also laughable for him (IROPO) to run shoulder to shoulder with the all season political giant, Senator Hosea Ayoola Hallelujah who secured PDP ticket for Gov Seyi Makinde in 2019 because of his politically unbeaten prowess. The record also have it that the likes of Senator Ladoja and Adebayo Akala also got their tickets through the later’s political gameplay.”
According to Agbarapo, “No serious student of Oyo politics would swallow that lie. Governor Makinde’s 2019 emergence was a product of his political consistency since 2007, clear vision and economic blueprints, vantage position among others, the support of the coalition led by our father, baba Ladoja, and the will of the people.
“Ladoja and Akala, both political institutions and elderstatesmen, were already power centers long before Senator Halleluyah even dreamed of relevance. To claim they got tickets through him is an insult to Oyo’s collective political memory, especially baba Ladoja who was already a Senator of the federal republic in 1992 around a time Halleluyah was an ordinary ward Counselor.”
Agbarapo said it was unfortunate that rather than address his earlier assertions over how Oke-ogun lost out on Halleluyah’s time as a senator and with facts, the group resorted to name-calling and pettiness, a move he described as “the last resort of political jesters struggling to stay relevant.”
He noted that every point he raised regarding Halleluyah’s failure to make tangible contributions to Oke-Ogun’s development remains verifiable by the public.
“I challenge them to show even any concrete project that Halleluyah attracted to Oke-Ogun throughout his tenure as senator. Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said.
Contrary to the group’s claims, Agbarapo insisted that unlike those he accused of “feeding fat on propaganda,” his political career had been defined by community impact and visible achievements.
He recalled facilitating road rehabilitation, rural electrification, classroom renovation, and provision of potable waters through installation of boreholes across different communities while serving in the Assembly. “These are records that speak for themselves. They don’t require a press statement to exist,” he added.
He also dismissed the group’s attempt to ridicule his performance in the 2019 PDP House of Representatives primary election, saying politics is not an event but a continuum.
“Even if I lost due to some known political factors, I never lost my organic connection to the people at the grassroots unlike them who only leverage on poverty in the zone to manipulate unsuspecting politicians,” he remarked.
Agbarapo further cautioned Halleluyah’s supporters against banking on photo opportunities with federal figures as proof of relevance, describing such antics as “a tragic exhibition of political emptiness,” while stressing that all politics remains local at the grassroots and not in Abuja.
“You don’t revive a dead political career with pictures taken in Abuja with unpopular opposition leaders. Oyo people remember results, not photo-ops. The truth remains that Halleluyah failed to make meaningful impact while serving as senator, and no amount of revisionism will wash that away from our minds. My advice is simple: return to the grassroots, reconnect with the people, and stop wasting time on futile campaigns of political photoshoots,” he stated.
In what appeared to be a moment of calm reflection amid the heated media exchanges between the two political rivals, Agbarapo expressed gratitude to the Irawo Owode Community Development Association for their recent open letter appreciating his contributions to local development.
He described the community’s gesture as “a humbling reminder that true service is never forgotten and the little things we do to alleviate our local communities are being noticed by beneficiaries.”
The letter, signed by the association’s chairman, Alfa Azeez Wasiu Olawale (Sekoni), and endorsed by the Olowode of Irawo Owode, Oba Alhaji Jubril Adetunji Adeleke (Daudu I), praised Agbarapo’s “unrelenting commitment and dedication to grassroots progress.”
It also acknowledged his consistent presence in community affairs and his recent donation of ₦100,000 toward the town’s development projects.
“On behalf of all sons and daughters of Irawo Owode at home and abroad, we sincerely thank you for your generosity and leadership. May God continue to elevate you, sir,” the letter read in part.
In a follow-up note from the community elders, they also expressed optimism that Agbarapo’s service-driven approach to politics would someday earn him a national role. “Abuja office will be your next step by God’s grace,” they wrote.
Reacting to the letter, Agbarapo said he considered such appreciation from his people far more rewarding than “the noise of those who trade in envy and empty accusations.” He added that while propaganda may fade, genuine service leaves enduring footprints.
“No amount of political blackmail can undo what I have done for my people and will continue to do. Those who have failed their entire senatorial district should face their guilt, not redirect their bitterness toward me. I remain focused on uplifting lives.”