BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
It will be like a return battle in Osun State come September when the governorship election will be held. The man who defected to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP after he was denied that ticket by the All Progressives Congress, APC and went ahead to win the senatorial election last year is on the move again. Ademola Adeleke, brother of late Isiaka Adeleke, former governor of the state and senator has emerged candidate of the PDP for the election.
He will slug it out with Isiaka Oyetola, chief of staff to Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Adeleke emerged winner after a keen contest that saw him defeat Akin Ogunbiyi, chief executive of Mutual Benefit Assurance on Saturday. He score 1,569 votes against Ogunbiyi’s 1, 562 votes. There was some tension in the air even as the votes were recounted and Ogunbiyi’s votes increased after an initial leads that was reportedly overturned by Adeleke’s votes. In fact, at some point security personnel had to fire teargas into the air to ward off some hoodlums who were intent on disrupting the process.
Now that the race has begun, the contestants will have to rely on their programmes, the reach of their parties, their network and certain factors within the state. One of the factors that may come up in this race is zoning. That was a major factor in the attempt to fill the vacant stool created by the demise of the older Adeleke last year. The PDP holds up t to heart. And for that it may win the heart of people from the Osun west senatorial zone. For it was its insistence that was one reason Iyiola Omisore, its candidate in the 2014 election crossed to the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
The APC and government of Aregbesola ignored zoning as an issue at last year’s bye-election for the senatorial seat only to lose the seat to PDP. That sentiment has not fizzled out. In fact, it is still very potent.
But Oyetola and APC will be relying on the performance of Aregbesola in the past eight years and the grassroots consultation that has been on for about six months. One other thing is that, notwithstanding the protestations from two of the 17 aspirants in APC , the party appears to be going into the September contest as one. And safely enough, religion will not be an issue. Both are of the Muslim background.
However, for Adeleke, the sympathy over his brother’s death that he rode on last year may have waned. If that is the case, the senator may not have helped his case. Reason is that perhaps the only thing that marks him out in the Senate is his dancing skill.
That sympathy may not win for him the votes of sophisticated people of Osun. Adeleke will also be harping on the link between Oyetola, who hails from Iragbiji town and is said to be a cousin of Bola Tinubu, national leader of APC and former governor of Lagos State. The PDP would be banking on the involvement of Tinubu in Osun politics being resisted by the electorate. That, after all, may not be a firm factor to rest on. It is also part of the rumours that trail elections in this clime.
Though some people swore that the former Lagos state governor was in Osun during the primaries on Friday. But at some point even Ogunbiyi, though then bidding for PDP ticket, was rumoured to have been backed by the same Tinubu. The insurance magnate had to deny the insinuation. It was not clear if this was a consideration among leaders of his party. But what was clear was that Ogunbiyi enjoyed a cult following, perhaps because of his youthfulness, freshness in politics and wealth.
But if the PDP candidate wins, then victory for Adeleke would be credited to Aregbesola administration. And that will be because of the modulated salary scheme that is seen as a major draw back for the government. As for Oyetola , he is said to be a good party man and a passionate believer in development. His passion is the main reason he is the choice of the party leadership, over the issue of zoning.
Should the PDP fail to resolve their differences ahead of the election in September, the opposition party would have created a loophole that Oyetola, which his party could turn to a positive step towards winning the election.
