- *How, why ruling party lost
- *Defeat hurts Tinubu’s bid
- *Nigerians greet Adeleke, hail Buhari, INEC, security agencies
There are indications that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State might seek to judicially reverse the victory of Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the weekend Osun State governorship election.
The people’s decision on Saturday through the ballot to end the three consecutive terms of APC in Osun State was peacefully received and celebrated.
The Returning Officer for the Osun State Governorship Election, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe at exactly 7:13 Sunday morning read to the hearing of party agents, the media, international and local observers, Nigerian Civil Society groups and the international community that watched online the final outcome of the Saturday, July 16 guber poll.
He declared Adeleke winner having satisfied all constitutional requirements, winning in 17 of the 30 local government areas of the state with a margin of 28,344 votes , having scored a total of 403,371 votes to beat the incumbent governor Oyetola, candidate of APC who got 37,5027 ballots.
The INEC Chief Returning Officer added, “I hereby declare that Ademola Adeleke having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and he is hereby returned elected.”
Adeleke, apart from winning the total majority votes in the state elections, he also won majority in 17 local government area councils while the outgoing governor won in 13 local government area councils.
The outcome of Saturday’s election may have some impact on the presidential ambition of Tinubu.
Tinubu, a native of Iragbiji, in Boripe Local Government of Osun State and major backer of his cousin, Oyetola would have maybe wished or preferred that the APC lost the Ekiti Governorship election , won almost a month ago just to retain Osun.
The loss by Oyetola at this particular period could spell political doom for Tiniubu and his hope of winning the South West massively in 2023.
Unlike in Ekiti where Tinubu and top notchers of his presidential campaign team were on ground for a week, the National Leader of the APC was said to have left Osun Friday night “having seen the handwriting on the wall knowing fully from responses on the streets of Osogbo, the state capital and other major towns that Osun people have rejected the APC,” a source said.
But a source close to the Tinunu Campaign Organisation said he had to leave Osun Friday night to be able to.meet up with a scheduled meeting with Speakers of the Houses of Assembly in APC states.
Meanwhile, leaders of the PDP and other Nigerians have been congratulating Adeleke. They have also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC, security agencies as well as the people for a peaceful and successful election. Buhari also congratulated Adeleke.
National chairman of PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu said Osun people have spoken, and Nigeria will speak too.
The chairman said the defeated and outgoing governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola and his party, the APC, did everything to frustrate Adeleke and the people of Osun.
He said ” this included denying us the use of any public facility in the state capital for our mega-rally.
“We had to use the party’s state secretariat. As it were, we couldn’t have access to the stadium, but we had access to the people’s hearts, loyalty and votes.
“The convincing win of 403, 371 against Gov. Oyetola’s 375, 027 is ample proof of that.
“Twelve years ago, specifically on 26th November, 2010, the PDP lost Osun state – not through the ballot-box – but via a judicial coup (ruling).
“That coup (ruling) terminated the action-packed tenure of HE Olagunsoye Oyinlola. And since then, Osun has been frozen in executive misrule and underdevelopment.
“Four years ago, the PDP won the governorship, but our Candidate, Sen. Adeleke, was robbed of victory in broad daylight. We went back to the drawing-board, and today, we have reclaimed our victory.
‘Today is, therefore, not just a day of double restoration – it’s a day of redemption too. It restores PDP to power and redeems the Osun people from the scourge of mediocrity, empty promises and excuses.
“I congratulate the two-time winner, the tenacious Adeleke. I congratulate the good people and residents of Osun state. I hail every party stakeholder who stood with us in action,prayers and hope.
“You have kept faith with the PDP. You refused to be intimidated. You refused to be bought over with foodstuffs and 30 silver coins. You said no to thuggery and vote-fraud. You have done well.
“I thank the PDP National Campaign Council for the Osun State Governorship Election, headed by HE Gov. Duoye Diri, for a superlative performance. I thank our Vice Presidential Candidate Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa for tireless work.
PDP is proud of all of you.
“You have helped to return PDP to power after 12 years. You have returned hope to Osun state. But beyond this, you have renewed the quit notice on the reigning APC Federal government. PDP first issued the quit notice in December last year when this present leadership assumed office.
“This election was a referendum on the disastrous APC stewardship, and proves conclusively that Nigerians want PDP back. And, indeed, PDP is coming!”
Presidential candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said with the Osun governorship victory, the ship of Nigeria’s hope is already at the harbour.
Atiku in a personally signed statement on Sunday said “I have always had affection for the people of Osun State for obvious reasons. Yes, my wife hails from there, but if you have to walk a difficult path and you need men and women of courage and astute valour, the people of Osun will never be a disappointment.
“At this point in time when our country needs to take a break from the shameful effects of bad governance, it shall be on record that Osun State provided the compass into that brighter future that awaits us at the horizon.
“The referendum on the administration of the APC has commenced with the verdict of the people of Osun State in electing Senator Ademola Adeleke, while we know that the 2023 general election will be a full referendum.
“It is inconceivable that Nigerians will reward the APC for the failings of the last seven years. And in a state like Osun, for example, it’s been a long time since the people last felt the effect of good governance.
“The ship of hope is already at the harbour under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party. We shall intensify the work to ensure that we uproot all vestiges of bad governance and false hopes towards the 2023 election. The Imole (light) that has started to shine from Osun shall soon have a national coverage.”
The PDP presidential candidate said one more good thing about the victory in Osun is that it has provided a catalyst for the PDP to see the opportunity when the party works together in unity.
“The work to bring the PDP together is a work in progress and the good news is that we are steadily making progress.
“As you wake up the morning after (Sunday, the 17th of July, 2022), you may be assured that you are doing so with the illumination that has come to Osun. Congratulations to Sen. Ademola Adeleke, on a well-fought victory. Also, hearty congratulations to the PDP family and all stakeholders who came together to make this sweet victory possible. But even more importantly, congratulations to the great people of Osun State for proving that power truly belongs to the people.
“The march to reclaim Nigeria’s greatness has begun and it shall not stop until we achieve the goal of One People, One Future and One Country”0, he said.
Police Service Commission (PSC) commended the performance of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). It pledged that the police and other security agencies in the country would perform better in future elections.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations, on Sunday. According to the statement, PSC monitored the conduct of officers deployed to the 30 Local Government Areas of the State and rated performance above average.
“The Police men arrived the polling centres on time and were professional in their conduct. They exhibited a high level of commitment to their duties and were able to restore orderliness in most of the polling Units.
“There were an average of three policemen in most of the Units who were properly dressed with their name tags and were also firm and courteous to voters,” the statement said.
PSC, however, noted that there were some security challenges at some polling units, which the Police with the assistance of officers of the Civil Defence, Federal Road Safety and in some places, the men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Department of State Security were able to quickly contained to restore peace and order.
“The Polling units were devoid of arms carrying security Agencies in line with the requirements of the law, but both armed Military men and special forces of the Police mounted road blocks and paraded the streets.
“Commission Monitors across the state reported that there was no major violence recorded in most of the polling Units visited.
“The policing of the Osun Governorship election was a huge improvement on the last Governorship election in Ekiti State earlier widely adjudged free and Fair.”
Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police, said the progress recorded in election policing in Osun State was a good signal that the 2023 general elections would be a huge success.
While assuring of the continuous support of the Commission to improve performance, IGP Smith called on the Police to sustain the momentum and preparations for future elections.
According to him, “the Commission will continue to promptly reward Officers who display exemplary performance in the discharge of their duties to serve as motivation for others to copy from.”
