Osun guber: Oyetola, Adeleke battle for Osun’s soul again

The 1.9million registered voters in Osun State are going to the polls today to decide on 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 breath 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 interpretation 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.