…All Eyes On Aregbesola & The Third Force
All is finally set for the voting population in Osun state to go to the polls to decide who will govern them for the next four years today.
Osun state has a total of 1,955,657 registered voters. Out of the total registered voters, 1,479,595 — 76%– have collected their Permanent Voter’s Cards as of Sunday 10th July 2022. This implies that about 1,479, 595 voters are expected go to the poll to decide the fate of the governorship candidates.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its official figures had disclosed that the election would take place in 332 registration areas across the 30 local government areas of the state.
Though 15 candidates, many pundits have predicted that the two contenders are the candidate of All Progressive Congress(APC), Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ademola Adeleke; with the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Lasun Yusuf emerging as a third force.
The New Diplomat reports that this is the second face-off between Oyetola and Adeleke. The first contest between the duo was won by Oyetola.
Recall Oyetola was declared as the winner of the Osun state governorship election of 2018 after a re-run election.
Adeleke had initially led Oyetola with 353 votes at the end of the first round of balloting, but after the rerun, Oyetola won with 482 votes. In the rerun which took place in seven units, Oyetola won seven, while Adeleke won one.
Oyetola polled a total of 255,505 votes while the PDP candidate scored a total of 255,023 votes.
The 2018 contest was very close, many political analysts have predicted the same scenario in the 2022 election.
Oyetola, the incumbent governor of the state who is seeking re-election for a second term in office enjoys the privileges that come with being in power as well as the ‘federal might’. He is running on the platform of the ruling party, something that can play an important role in his victory.
Oyetola is also a cousin to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While the 2023 presidential election is about seven months from now, Tinubu and other heavyweights in the APC are working to secure Osun state to make a statement ahead of the general elections.
Though Oyetola has a lot in his favour, the cold war between him and the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola may likely affect his chances in the election.
Oyetola and his predecessor, Aregbesola fell apart over the past months. Oyetola, after assuming office, had reversed some of the policies put in place by his predecessor – a development which gave rise to the acrimony.
The New Diplomat had reported that in the primary election that produced Oyetola as the 2022 governorship candidate of APC, Aregbesola threw his weight behind former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti.
During the build-up to the primary election, Aregbesola had alleged that Oyetola was forced on the people of Osun by Tinubu. The minister called on the party members to end politics of godfatherism and enthronement by voting for his candidate, Adeoti, but it wasn’t going to be as Oyetola recorded a landslide victory.
Since the defeat, the Minister had been largely out of the political scenes in the state and even failed to attend the mega rally of Oyetola. Hours to the commencement of the election, it is not clear if Aregbesola will be making a last-minute alliance with the opposition as speculated.
Osun state’s politics has always been known for these sorts of last minute political alliances. It would be recalled that in the 2018 election, the then governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Iyiola Omisore collapsed structure for Oyetola’s APC, a development that had impact on the election.
Many analysts had speculated that should Aregbesola declare support for an opposition candidate, it will be Adeleke. The minister enjoyed a good relationship with the late Isiaka Adeleke, the elder brother of the PDP governorship candidate.
Ademola himself enjoys the privilege of the ‘Adeleke’ family. The PDP candidate came into the political scene shortly after the demise of his elder brother — Isiaka. The deceased, then a serving senator, was nursing his governorship ambition when he died.
Known as the ‘dancing senator’, Ademola has said he is determined to recover his “stolen mandate” from the APC.
Adeleke often claims he won the 2018 election and was robbed of his mandate. Hence, he has expressed his readiness to give APC a run for its money in his second attempt. The New Diplomat also gathered that some residents are looking forward to a change in government, which may work in Adeleke’s favour.
On the other hand, the possibility of a third force emerging through the candidate of the LP, Lasun Yusuf cannot be overlooked.
Yusuf is a former deputy speaker of the house of representatives, Yusuf is not a greenhorn in Nigerian politics, however he’s a first-timer in the Osun governorship race.
A native of Ilobu, Yusuf decided to try his hands at the Osun election by declaring his bid for the governorship seat on the platform of the APC.
He lost the ticket as he placed a distant third during the election.
After failing to secure the APC ticket, he resigned his membership of the ruling party and defected to the LP where he won the party’s governorship ticket.
Lasun represented Irepodun/Olurunda/Osogbo/Orolu at the house of representatives for eight years, so it is believed that he would have some influence among the voters of the federal constituency.
The popularity of the presidential candidate of the LP, Peter Obi may also work in his favour.
As voting begins Saturday morning by 8am, The New Diplomat is ready to give you every details on how things are rapidly developing in Osun state.
