By Ayodele Oni

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State did not discusse any  defection plans to the All Progressives Congress (APC) during his recent visit to Predident Bola Tinubu, his Campaign Office, Imole Campaign Council has clarified.

The Council, which coordinated Adeleke’s campaign in the August 15 governorship election, explained that the governor’s visit to the President was a customary engagement following the conclusion of the off-cycle election.

In a statement by the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Committee, Bamidele Salam, the council said Adeleke used the visit to show appreciation to Tinubu for not interfering on election day, and used the opportunity to discuss issues concerning peace, security and development of Osun State.

The clarification followed reports and insinuations that Adeleke, who secured victory in the governorship election, was considering abandoning Accord Party for the ruling APC after meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.

The council emphasized that no discussion about defection took place during the meeting.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the visit of Mr Governor and top members of his Campaign team had absolutely nothing to do with a plan to move from Accord to the All Progressives Congress as being insinuated in certain quarters.

“We wish to state unequivocally that at no stage during the visit to Mr President was the issue of decamping to the APC discussed.”

According to the council, Adeleke had a responsibility to pay a courtesy visit to the President after emerging victorious in the recently concluded election, particularly given Tinubu’s earlier calls for security agencies and the electoral umpire to ensure a free and fair exercise.

The council said the meeting also provided an opportunity for both leaders to discuss how to maintain peace and stability in the state following what it described as a tense electoral contest.

Tinubu, while receiving Adeleke at the Presidential Villa, congratulated the governor on his victory but cautioned him against using the outcome of the election to victimise or stigmatise his opponents.

The president told Adeleke that his victory should be viewed as a democratic mandate rather than a conquest over his political rivals.

“Don’t stigmatise any of your opponents,” Tinubu told him, urging the governor to return to Osun and govern in a manner that promotes unity.

“You did not conquer anybody. You won an election. That is the essence of democracy,” the President said.

Tinubu further urged Adeleke not to make any individual a victim of the campaign, stressing that his administration should focus on building unity, peace and stability in the state.

He said Adeleke was in a “very unique position to make history” and advised him to use his position to strengthen democratic values and the rule of law.

The president also attributed Adeleke’s victory to the will of the people and divine providence, rather than the political calculations of individuals.

“Use me as an example. And I got here. God put me here. Where you are today, God put you there,” Tinubu said.

He commended Adeleke and his campaign team for their mobilisation efforts during the election and urged the governor to channel the momentum from the election into governance.

“All you’re doing now is progressive instinct. And you did a very good mobilisation with your team — very good job,” Tinubu said.

By Ayodele Oni

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has reiterated commitment to embrace peace and involve his opponents in the development of the state.

The governor, while reacting to the call for peace by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Bola Oyebamiji, after he visited President Bola Tinubu on Friday, for peace in the state, welcomed the initiative.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor called the peace advocacy by Oyebamiji “a positive tone after weeks of heated campaign and election season”

Adeleke described the peace advocacy by the APC candidate as a good development for the Osun people who experienced trauma and violence over the last two months ahead of the last Saturday elections.

While noting the call for restraint by all political parties, the governor reviewed the pre-election climate of fear and conflict and indicated that his team has never subscribed to violence as a weapon of political campaign, even when under severe pressure in the countdown to the elections.

The governor, who recounted the pain he went through to restrain his supporters from retaliating against attacks, said Accord lost 15 members, with 20 injured and scores in police detention.

“I am forever a man of peace. It is heartwarming that my brother, Oyebamiji, is also preaching peace. I assure him that my supporters have not and will not attack APC members.

“Elections have come and gone, and we are all winners. The common task for us all is to sustain delivery of democratic dividends and good governance to the good people of Osun State.

“I welcome Mr Gboyega Oyetola, Bola Oyebamiji and other opposition leaders to join hands with me to take Osun to greater heights. We are all important stakeholders in this Osun project ”, Governor Adeleke was quoted as saying.

By Ayodele Oni

More calls for the restructuring of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in  Osun state have been intensified as a former House of Representatives member and Chairman of the Omisore Campaign Organisation, Mr Ajibola Famurewa, called for a change in the leadership.

He was of the view that the party’s poor performance in recent elections was not the fault of former Deputy Governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Famurewa, who also served as Director General of the Osun APC Campaign Council in 2018, while reacting to the party’s recent gubernatorial loss on TVC, said the party is battling a crisis of trust and an exclusionary leadership style that has alienated the majority of its members.

Reviewing the outcome of the last elections across the three senatorial districts in the state, Famurewa said the APC won only three out of 10 local governments in Osun Central, where most of the party leaders come from.

In Osun West, the zone of the party’s candidate, he noted that the party also secured three out of 10 local governments, while the APC won five local governments in Osun East, where Senator Omisore hails from.

“To me, I don’t believe that Senator Omisore worked against the party,” Famurewa said.

He attributed the losses to internal problems, stating: “We have problems in the party. The majority of the members have lost trust in the leadership of the party.”

When asked for his suggestions for the APC’s national leadership to solve the problems, the former lawmaker said the party needs new leadership that will be inclusive and carry all members along.

“We need to change the leadership of the party. Let us get a leader that will listen to everybody and carry all party members along. Not the kind of leadership that will select those he or she wants to work with,” he said.

Famurewa also faulted the distribution of federal appointments in the state, describing it as lopsided.

“The federal appointments in Osun State were lopsided. About 28 appointments went to the group of our leader, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola. This kind of situation won’t bring unity in the party,” he added.

He recalled that after the 2022 governorship election loss, party members appealed to the leadership to change tactics and be more inclusive, but said nothing had changed.

“After we lost the 2022 gubernatorial election, we appealed to our leader to change tactics and carry everybody along instead of some set of people who behave like lords over other but even now, the same set of caucus are still running things,” Famurewa stated.

He further alleged that candidates for the last elections emerged from the same caucus.

“The three senatorial candidates, the nine House of Representatives candidates and the 26 House of Assembly candidates emerged from the same caucus,” he said.

Concluding, Famurewa said restructuring is critical if the APC hopes to be competitive again in Osun.

“We need to restructure our party in the state if we want to win elections in the near future,” he said.