Ayobami Agboola 
AYOBAMI AGBOOLA reports on the verbal war among the leading governorship candidates in Osun State as they canvass for votes ahead of the forthcoming election
Ahead of the July 16 governorship election in Osun Sate, some of the leading contenders such as Adegboyega Oyetola, the incumbent governor of the state, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Lasun Yusuf of Labour Party and Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi of Accord Party have stepped up their campaigns to canvass for votes from the electorate.
Findings by New Telegraph showed all of the contenders are optimistic and upbeat that they have all it takes to win the gubernatorial election. While the APC candidate, Governor Oyetola believes that his landmark achievements in the last three and half years will give him an edge over other major contenders, Adeleke of the PDP in a viral video trending on social media boasted that he had come to the state with dollars and all types of hard currencies. The PDP flag bearer insisted that it will be “fire for fire” this time around having narrowly lost the 2018 governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the first ballot inconclusive. But during supplementary election where the present National Secretary of the APC, who accidentally is the indigene of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, backed Oyetola of the APC to win the election with a narrow margin. Observers who spoke to New Telegraph believe that the huge financial flow from political parties to voters during the supplementary elections in 2018 may likely play out again this time around, a reason why the PDP candidate boasted that he has stormed the state with a huge financial war chest for the election.
However, Governor Oyetola during the flag-off of his campaign in Ile-Ife, said he does not have money to purchase private jets for monarchs or hard currencies to splash around to citizens, but has the capacity to transform Osun through good governance. Oyetola, while speaking at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, said Osun is too sophisticated to be governed by kindergarten politicians seeking to do experiment with the state. He added that he is a man of peace who believes that politics is not a do-or-die affair, hinting that he is not interested in “fire-for-fire” approach espoused by a certain governorship candidate.
His words: “I am happy that the Ooni knows that I have good intention to govern this state. I may not be able to buy private jets, but I have all it takes to fix Osun. I don’t have hard currencies to splash around and I don’t believe in fire-for-fire approach, but I am confident of victory in the governorship election because of the modest achievements of our administration and the wide acceptance from our people in the last three-anda- half years. “I believe that my work will speak for me in my re-election bid because we have touched virtually all sectors of the state which is evident and people can attest to.
We have proved to our people that Osun is in the safe hands in view of the equitable distribution of resources that had culminated to the development that our people have been witnessing in the nooks and crannies of the state. “I have been managing the meagre resources at our disposal, coupled with the attendant challenges that we have successfully surmounted since assumption of office, it is instructive for discerning minds to know that governance is a serious task that cannot be left in the hands of mediocres.”
Oyetola, who reeled out some of his achievements across various sectors, promised that his administration will not relent in delivering democratic dividends for all and sundry said his decision to flag off his re-election campaign in Ife is due to strong successes and victories the town had brought to his party in the past elections.
“There is no seed we plant in Ife that doesn’t sprout, this explains why we are flagging off our campaign from Ife. We appreciate the people of Ife, we do not joke with this town and we will never stop prioritising the welfare, wellbeing and overall development of Ife, and indeed the entire state saying nothing will stop him from ensuring that dividends of democracy are equitably spread across the nooks and crannies of the state, just as we have spread our health and infrastructure interventions around, among many other interventions,” he said. The candidate of the Labour Party, Yusuf, who decried the kind of desperate politics being played by some governorship candidates in the build-up to the election, said some individuals he described as powerful politicians and desperate to win the gubernatorial election at all cost by all means, are after his life.
Yussuf, who is the former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, defected from the ruling APC to Labour Party few days after the party’s primary election. The former lawmaker, said: “Since we secured the ticket of the Labour Party to contest the July 16 election in Osun State, there has been some unusual behaviour by certain individuals and groups towards my campaign team and I. “As a politician, I thought it was one of those antics in politics by some politicians until I started noticing open confrontations being carried too far which the public, especially security agents, must be aware of.
“I hereby seize this opportunity to intimate the press and public about the ugly attack on our campaign office and some previous physical attacks on my person and my entourage in the past two weeks. All these attacks on me and my campaign office point to the fact that my life and all others involved in my gubernatorial campaign in Osun are in serious danger.
“I therefore seize this opportunity to intimate the public and the whole world that my political opponents have sponsored some thugs to be after my life and to disturb our gubernatorial campaign. The security agencies are hereby put on red alert in this respect. “I state here unequivocally that nothing can stop our campaign and no threats can stop me from becoming governor of Osun State come July 16. I am peace loving and expect all contestants to be. Thuggery and hooliganism or employing violence to win election will not work this time around! Even using money will not!
“My campaign is based on issues and programmes premised on changing the narratives for Osun and its people. The sitting governor and other contestants are hereby advised to desist from thuggery and hooliganism and let our campaigns be based on sound debates focused on issues and our programs for Osun economic growth and development.” Yussuff, who is confident that he will win the governorship election, boasted that as a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, his detractors are after him because of his status and level of political followership across the state.
He held that the current government has failed woefully and that he is coming to change the narrative of governance in Osun State. On his part, the Accord Party flag bearer, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, while flagging off his campaign, said he is coming to rescue the state and make life more meaningful for the people of the state through purposeful leadership especially in rural development and good health facilities. He insisted that Accord Party will bring meaningful development to all and sundry, urging the people to vote for him in the upcoming gubernatorial poll. On whether money will be the determining factor during the election, Ogunbiyi opined that the issue of vote-buying is left with the electorate to decide.
At the moment, the major contestants in the race have visited almost all the traditional rulers, village heads in communities, towns and villages across all the local government areas of the state to solicit royal blessings and support ahead of the poll. While APC believes that it has all it takes to retain the exalted governorship seat in the state, other opposition parties also believe that they can win the election if INEC and other major stakeholders play by the rules and desist from vote-buying and monetisation of votes by politicians who have capitalised on impoverishing the electorate and seeking their votes with inducement.
Some stakeholders who spoke to our correspondent in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to beam their searchlight on politicians and their agents on election day, so as to apprehend those who might want to use money to buy votes.
