Oyetola: Expecting to reap from consultations
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
There are indications that Gboyega Oyetola, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the inconclusive governorship election in Osun State may win at the rerun election fixed for Thursday.
That is if endorsements by political parties and major political figures are all that is required to tilt the victory towards the candidate. By the results compiled before the whole process was suspended Oyetola was led by Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP by 353 votes. But the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC declared the election inconclusive because there were places where voting did not take place due to reasons like disruption and disappearance of INEC staff assigned there. So what will work for him in the race for about 3,000 votes at the rerun?
First there are reports that Iyiola Omisore, candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP has aligned with the APC. He was lobbied by the two leading political parties being the candidate who came third in the exercise. Aside from the promise of forming a government of coalition , Omisore who left PDP in anger on the eve of the party primaries for the said election still bears fresh wound on what he felt was an unfair treatment by a party he had been in for some years.
Then the strength of delegation for the consultations appears to have also been a factor that determined the side Omisore decided to give his support. For APC Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman led a delegation that included governors Ganduje, Kayode Fayemi of Kano and Ekiti respectively and Lai Mohammed, minister of information. It stands to reason that whatever primos made by such a delegation is approved by the party. For PDP , Bukola Saraki, Senate president who recently decamped to the party was the one who led a slim delegation to Ile- Ife.
Though the report of the coalition government came after Omisore was quoted to have said that he would not coarse his supporters to vote for any party in the rerun, the SDP candidate has not disclaimed the statement purportedly signed by him indicating that his party had agreed to form a government of coalition with the APC in the state.
However, after Omisore is said to have gone on campaign to some of the affected areas with APC, leaders of PDP did a turn around away from praising the former deputy governor to lampooning him for agreeing to the coalition on a selfish term.
Now apart from meetings with Omisore, APC leaders are also said to have gone on a fence mending with aggrieved members of the APC, some of who had left the party after the primaries. For instance, they were said to have met with Moshood Adeoti, former secretary to the state government who ran on the platform of the ADP.
Though the damage by Adeoti’s defection may no longer been totally reversed, as there is no rerun in his Iwo town, he would bear influence in places like Orolu council and other places where he had campaigned. His impact may be felt in the campaigns on the eve of the rerun because he has been in the progressive fold for a long time and would easily connect with influential community leaders.
The outcome of the rerun will show what dividend the consultations generated for the parties.
