…as old rivals, Oyetola, Adeleke battle for state’s soul once again
. 1.9m voters to decide their fate
. Aregbesola’s TOP loyalists make U-turn, vow to work for APC in today’s polls
The 1.9million registered voters in Osun State have the herculean task to decide in the next few hours the next and sixth governor of Osun State.
This morning, all the voters in the 332 registration areas across the 30 local government areas will be heading to the various polling booths across the length and breathe of the state to carry out their civic duty and exercise their constitutional responsibility of voting the candidate of their choice out of the 15 cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the governorship election in the state.
Of the lot, two however stand out; they are the cynosure of all eyes in today’s election in Osun State. They’re both old rivals who will be reopening their old rivalry with each striving to cut his pound of flesh from the other. Incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the ruling All Progressives Congress will be up in arms against his major contestant, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
In addition to the two above, the other major candidates in today’s governorship election in Osun State are Lasun Yusuff of the Labour Party and Accord Party’s Akin Ogunbiyi. But both Yusuff and Ogunbiyi may not make more than a fitful breeze on the electorate in today’s election.
It’s, however, a well-known fact that the two arch-rivals in today’s polls, incumbent Governor Oyetola and PDP’s Adeleke definitely have more than an axe to grind against each other. While Oyetola is seeking re-election for a second term in the coveted office, his rival, Adeleke is going into today’s polls with the determination to recover his 2018 “stolen mandate” from the sitting governor and the ruling APC.
Today will be the second time both candidates will be squaring it up on the political turf.
In 2018, Oyetola and Adeleke contested the Osun governorship seat, but the APC candidate was eventually declared the winner after a rerun which held in seven units. At the end of voting, Oyetola won seven and Adeleke got just one with the APC candidate polling 255,505 votes while the PDP flagbearear got a total of 255,023 votes.
Earlier, Adeleke had led Oyetola with 353 votes at the end of the first round to ballots, but at the end of the rerun, the APC candidate won with 482 votes.
Today, Adeleke will be all out to retaliate his surprising defeat in the rerun ordered by INEC on September 27, 2018, after he had earlier on September 22, 2018 shockingly floored Oyetola, the candidate of the ruling APC, before the exercise was declared inconclusive by INEC’s Returning Officer, Joseph Adeola Fuwape.
Adeleke had lost the 2018 Osun governorship election to Oyetola due to alleged massive electoral fraud, vote-buying and voter intimidation. Ruling APC’s Oyetola was eventually declared the winner, issued Certificate of Return and sworn in as Governor of Osun State on November 27, 2018.
Although Adeleke and his party, the PDP challenged the results of the election at the tribunal, the outcome was just a mere vindication that the main opposition party had a case. The APC machinery, however, went into motion after arguing its case at the Appeal and Supreme Courts, Oyetola won and retained the Osun governor’s seat.
But this judicial interpretations did not satisfy the Adeleke family and the PDP, which at every opportunity since then have laid claim to winning the Osun 2018 governorship election.
The PDP candidate, Adeleke, however, afterwards decided to take solace in relocating abroad to acquire a university degree, giving Governor Oyetola the room to concentrate on governing Osun. But the governor soon fell out with his predecessor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the current Minister of Interior, a development which has since divided the ruling party in the state and created serious enmity between the governor and his former boss.
But today’s election has reopened the old wounds.
Despite all the odds and hurdles placed on his way in the run-up to the Osun PDP governorship primary election, INEC eventually confirmed Adeleke as the party’s gubernatorial candidate.
Clearly, both incumbent Governor Oyetola of the APC and Adeleke of the main opposition PDP are battle ready for today’s election.
According to political analysts, today’s election is more of a battle between Governor Oyetola and Adeleke than a contest between the APC and the main opposition PDP.
The Adeleke family, still smattering from its shocking defeat in 2018, will be going for its pound of flesh from Oyetola. Of course, they still bear a grudge against the state government over the shabby handling of the mysterious death of their patriarch, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke. The family is also still aggrieved that Oyetola’s predecessor, Aregbesola’s administration refused in 2017 to allow the Adelekes or another candidate from Ede to replace the late elder Adeleke. Moreover, they’re yet to forget how the family was robbed of the 2018 electoral victory. Therefore, the Adeleke family and the PDP in Osun are set to give the APC a run for its money in today’s election in the state.
The ruling APC and the main opposition PDP as well as their candidates are taking all steps to get the electorate in the state to their sides in today’s election. This morning, they and their foot soldiers will be employing multifarious means, including persuasion, coercion, money and even violence to get the required percentage of votes to win the governorship election. Of course, different individuals, groups, religious organisations and others are siding with either of the two top contenders for the state governorship seat. Even traditional rulers are clearly taking sides with their preferred candidate out of the two.
While the APC is banking on its achievements in the past 12 years to retain the Osun governor’s seat, the main opposition PDP believes the ruling party has done enough and the people of the state are tired of its reign and want a change of government.
But inspite of the internal wranglings confronting Oyetola within the APC, especially his parting of ways with his former boss, Aregbesola and his supporters, his incumbency confers a lot of advantages on him in today’s election. His array of achievements in the different sectors in the past four years will speak volumes on how the state’s electorate will vote today. Oyetola definitely has an edge in today’s polls, considering the strength of his political platform, the ruling APC and his achievements, he’s sure to carry the day.
Furthermore, the surprising Eleventh hour announcement by Aregbesola’s loyalists under the aegis of The Osun Progressives to work for Oyetola in today’s election is a big boost to the incumbent governor’s electoral fortune.
Speculations had been rife that TOP may back the PDP flagbearear, Ademola Adeleke, in today’s election.
But the Aregbesola loyalists on Friday reiterated in a statement that it’s still part of the APC inspite of alleged maltreatment of its members by the Oyetola government.
TOP in its statement said, “As the Osun Governorship Election comes up tomorrow, we The Osun Progressives (TOP) have been inundated with calls, questions and demands for our position by the media and our supporters and enthusiasts.
“Fundamentally, we are unabashedly democrats of the progressive hue. We live its credo and our entire being is in it.
“Our association, a caucus within the State of Osun All Progressives Congress (APC), was founded last year when we alarmingly saw the direction our party was going. It was like the falcon could no longer hear the falconer. We were filled with trepidation on the tempest long foretold.
“We were at this junction before, in the run-off to the 2003 General election. We feared that history might tragically repeat itself except we acted selflessly and forthrightly. Like-minded members and leaders of the party, therefore, came together to form the group.
“The administration of our leader, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, produced a successor in Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, against all odds, by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. We worked hard on the mantra of continuity, the continuation of the giant development strides of the Aregbesola administration, which endeared the party to the people of the state, producing the victory that brought Governor Oyetola into office.
“As a caucus within the party, we have consistently made strident efforts at peace and reconciliation within our party. For this, we have only asked for one condition, which is inclusiveness.
“The State Governor and his henchmen, most regrettably, have turned his office and our party into a zero-sum game. You are either with them or against them. They rejected any idea of inclusiveness. They rebuffed all propositions for peace and reconciliation and not even a Councillorship position was ceded to any other section of the party outside of the Ileri-Oluwa caucus.
“Any party member that is not publicly demonstrating obscene loyalty to the governor and attacking Ogbeni Aregbesola or anyone remotely or directly associated with him is branded an enemy and marked for alienation from government and party offices. Worse still, the independent-minded party members not praise singing the Governor are subject to insidious and malevolent attacks.
“The policy of exclusion in OSUN APC is so deep that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who is the immediate past Governor of the state and the current minister from the state was neither consulted, invited nor included in any party matter, the most recent of which is the APC’s Osun Campaign Council for this election. This posturing has riven the party.
“Nevertheless, we remain unflinching members of our party, the All Progressives Congress and stand by its ideals, irrespective of our travails or even the outcome of tomorrow’s election. We are long-distance runners and will not abandon the ship of our party, in calm or stormy waters.”
