The major challenger of Governor Gboyega Oyetola for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Osun State, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, has vowed to approach the court to challenge what he describto as “pyrrhic victory” won by Oyetola in yesterday’s primary election in the state.
Specifically, Adeoti accused the governor of rigging the election with the apparent backing of the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (NCECPC) of the party.
Speaking at a press conference in Oshogbo yesterday, Adeoti who belongs to the camp led by the minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said the ugly development in Osun State APC sends a wrong signal as to whether the APC has a future in the state, and whether the 2023 general elections can be free and fair despite repeated assurances by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Adeoti alleged that Governor Oyetola used intimidation and violence to ensure that the primary election was everything but free and fair.
He said, ”There was violence in Olorunda Local Government where the Ward 3 Chairman of the Rasaq Salinsile-led APC in Olorunda Local government, Mr Sala Ademola and his secretary, Mr. Ajisefini were kidnappe. Ourq supporters were also disenfranchised in all the wards in Ife East by not being accredited and being intimidated with thugs wielding dangerous weapons.
“In Ife, Senator Iyiola Omisore took over the electioneering process. He stopped the accreditation process, sent out my supporters using thugs but allowed and counted members from the Governor’s group”.
The APC governorship aspirant also alleged that the Osun State government procured the services of armed policemen who aided the well-choreographed rigging of the election.
”There was also a massive influx of unregistered members of the party who voted with the connivance of the heavily-compromised National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, of which Oyetola is a member. Overall, there was a massive disenfranchisement of registered APC members in all my strongholds during the so-called primary election,” he stated.
Adeoti said there was no way any primary election conducted in the state can be fair if Governor Oyetola remains a member of the NCECPC.
His words: “What we are witnessing is a case of a thief adjudicating his own case. He can never convict himself. Governor Oyetola’s membership of the NCECPC is against the democratic norms. We dare say that this is capable of causing disquiet, more than we are facing in Osun APC now, if allowed to pass us bye.
“We are reliably informed that Governor Oyetola is the one who hand-picked the Chairman and members of the primary election committee. It is within human reasonability not to trust such handpicked committee by an interested party member. Such committee would never be fair to other contenders.
“We therefore express absolute opposition to the outcome of the election because they were chosen by Governor Oyetola. There can only be point of convergence for us if Governor Oyetola could resign his membership and the process of conducting the primary begins afresh”.
He further said Oyetola’s participation in the election was a violation of the provision of Article 31(iii) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Constitution (2014) as Amended which says: “Any party office holder interested in contesting for an elective office (whether party office or office in a general election) shall resign and leave office 30 days prior to the date of nomination or party primary for office he or she is seeking to contest.
“From the Constitutional provision quoted above, it is against the tenet and intendment of Article 31(iii) for Governor Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola to still remain and retain his membership of CECPC. A closer look at the provisions of the Constitution quoted above shows that the drafter of the APC Constitution has envisaged a situation as the one that is currently happening in Osun State”.
He further alleged that the process had been orchestrated from the outset to manipulate the outcome in favour of Governor Oyetola which was why the date of the primary was changed from March 5 to February 19.
“We have it on good authority that the NCECPC was influenced by Oyetola to reverse the date to have the primary before the National Convention scheduled to hold on February 26, 2022. It is believed that Oyetola is afraid of contesting a free and fair primary election to be conducted by an objective committee after a neutral leadership of the party would have emerged,” Adeoti alleged.
He however appealed to his supporters to be calm, saying he will definitely seek a legal redress.
”In the true and tested tradition of our party, APC, we will be mounting a robust legal challenge against the so-called primary election in Osun State which gave victory to Oyetola,” he said.
People Expected War For Osun APC Primary But It Was Peaceful – AbdulRazak Meanwhile, chairman of the Osun APC governorship primary, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara State, yesterday hailed the peaceful conduct of the exercise, saying despite the prediction of war, the primary election was peaceful.
He also lauded members of the APC in the state who came out in large numbers on Saturday to elect their candidate for the July 16 governorship election.
Meanwhile, contrary to fear of violence by residents of the state that led to some residents staying indoors in the morning, the election was said to be hitch-free and peaceful as at the time of filing this report.
Members of the party who trooped out en masse at their respective wards as early as 8.00 am to get accredited in the 332 wards of the state waited patiently to cast their votes by noon as laid down by the Osun Primary Election Committee.
There was a heavy presence of security operatives across the wards to monitor the activities of participants and at the same time ensure orderliness and peaceful conduct of the exercise.
Speaking with journalists shortly after he monitored the exercise in Iragbiji, the hometown of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, the chairman of the primary committee said, “If you opened the pages of newspapers today, what was painted was a picture of war in Osun. But the primary election has been peaceful. I congratulate the people of Osun and all the aspirants. They have all done well.”
Speaking after his accreditation in his ward, Osun state governor, Oyetola, said he was impressed with the turnout which he said has been meaningful.
He said, “I thank God that we were able to do it peacefully. All the members of the party have the opportunity to decide who will carry the flag of the party. I happened to be one of the aspirants as well and I don’t expect anything less.
“I want to appeal to all our people all over the state to please maintain peace. This election process should not be a battlefield. It should not be a do or die affair. There should be no violence. Let everybody have the opportunity of participating in his choice of who should be the candidate of our party.
“I think that’s the process and I think it has gone very well contrary to the speculation. I have called some numbers of places in the state; I think it’s been a peaceful process throughout the wards.”
While commenting on the absence of some agents of other aspirants at his ward, he said, “Well, that’s not my job, it’s their choice. I mean we had the stakeholders meeting yesterday, we are all expected to have our agents around here, perhaps for whatever reason best known to them, they may decide not to be part of it. So I am not bothered at all.”
He however expressed optimism that he would win at the end of the exercise by the grace of God.
“I want to appeal to all of us to see this issue as a family affair. It’s APC all through. We should brace up for the challenge ahead. We are going to face another party in this campaign we don’t know yet. I want to appeal to them to ensure that we have an opportunity for reconciliation. It’s a family thing,” he stated.
It was reliably gathered that the Interior minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola could not participate in the election due to official assignment.
His absence probably informed the defeat of his choice candidate, Moshood Adeoti at his ward.
One Dead In Primary Election
Meanwhile, tragedy struck yesterday when a middle aged man was shot dead while waiting for accreditation during the APC governorship primary at Odogbo ward 6 of Atakumosa East local government area of Osun State.
The death of the yet to be identified man who died in the hands of his assailants while on queue for accreditation caused pandemonium, as people at the venue took to their heels for safety.
Following the development, the election in the ward was halted, as both officials and prospective voters disappeared into thin air.
When contacted, the state Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, who confirmed the story said the police will get to the root of the matter.
She attributed the killing to rivalry between warring cult groups, adding the hands of the laws will soon get to the killers.
“One Bode Itapa stormed APC accreditation at Ward 6, Odogbo, picked up the victim and shot him dead. Police intercepted the suspect at Kwara road, engaged them in a shootout. They escaped into the bush with gun injuries.
They abandoned a PDP branded Nisan Hilux with a Sanya Omirin poster. The remains of the deceased have been deposited at the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa”, she hinted.
