July 10, (THEWILL) – The Osun State governorship election will hold on Saturday July 16, 2022 and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it is ready to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the state.
INEC’s preparation
While expressing its readiness for the election, INEC through its National Commissioner and the Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye, said that Osun polling units stand at 3,763, while the number of registration areas for the election is 332 in the 30 local government areas of the state.
Okoye added that the number of political parties contesting in the governorship election is 15 out of 18.
He assured that the Osun Election will be conducted with constitutional rights and legal instruments in order to achieve the needed Election result and also give credit to the entire Osun Election process.
Speaking further on the preparation, Okoye urged the political parties to make arrangement for transportation of their polling units agents on Election Day, saying that past experiences had shown that stranded party agents would be struggling with the ad-hoc staff of the commission for space in buses hired by INEC.
He said, “It is important that political parties make provisions for the polling agents. We don’t want a situation where party agents will be dragging spaces with our presiding officers in buses we hire.
“The bus we provide carries sensitive and non-sensitive materials and the presiding officers and sometimes, with the security agents. We don’t want a situation where polling agents will insist on getting into our vehicles at the detriment of our workers. It is highly unacceptable for the type of materials we carry. This is why we are calling on the political parties to get vehicles for their agents.”
Okoye called on the parties to ensure that their agents wear only accreditation tags provided by the commission.
As part of its preparation for the election, INEC also carried out a two-day mock accreditation in selected polling units in Osun State, with reports stating that the process was seamless, fast and without hitches, especially with the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
The accreditation was done with the use of BVAS machines, with either the fingerprints or facial recognition of voters.
On the issue of insecurity, the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has said that though it is generally calm at the moment, the commission is concerned about reports of clashes in some places. In one recent example, the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) was disrupted in Erin Oke and Erin Ijesha Wards of Oriade Local Government Area, resulting in the loss of 46 PVCs.
Yakubu noted that while the matter was being investigated by the police, the collection of PVCs for the affected Wards was already taking place in the INEC office in Ijebu-Jesha. “Meanwhile, the State office has compiled the Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) of the cards and the commission has already reprinted the PVCs for the affected voters,” he says.
He assured all valid registrants in Osun State that no one would be disenfranchised on account of such an incident.
“It is futile for anyone to attempt to vote using another person’s PVC. The BVAS biometric accreditation will expose such fraud and persons apprehended will be prosecuted under the law,” he says.
The INEC Chairman also expressed disappointment over the incident of vote-buying that trailed the recent Ekiti State governorship election. He promised that the commission would follow up on the prosecution of alleged votes buyers apprehended in Ekiti State.
“We appreciate the role played by the anti-corruption and security agencies in apprehending some of the perpetrators of this brazen assault on our democracy. In particular, we are working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure the prosecution of persons arrested in the recent Ekiti governorship election,” he said.
He promised that cases of vote buying would not resurface in Osun State during the election.
Two-horse race
The governorship election in Osun State will be contested by 15 political parties and their candidates that have been certified by the INEC to contest.
The listed candidates are Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is the incumbent governor of the state; Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Omigbodun Akinrinola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Others include Lasun Yusuff of the Labour Party (LP); Adesuyi Olufemi (ZLP); Adeleke Adedapo (BP); Adebayo Elisha (APP); Awoyemi Lukman (APM); Awojide Segun (AAC); Akinade Ogunbiyi (Accord); Kehinde Atanda (ADP); Rasaq Saliu (NNPP); Ayodele Adedeji of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Ademola Adeseye of Young People’s Party (YPP).
However of these 15 political parties and their candidates, four stand out and they are Accord Party, PDP, LP and APC. Political analysts are of the opinion that the Osun Governorship election will be a two-horse race between the incumbent governor and candidate of the APC, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; the PDP candidate and runner-up in the 2018 governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
Two other candidates, Lasun Yussuf of the LP and Akin Ogunbiyi of the Accord Party will come distant third and fourth, respectively.
The incumbent Governor Oyetola of APC will have another date with the candidate of PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleke, whom he (Oyetola) defeated four years ago after a controversial rerun.
The electoral commission had declared the September 2018 governorship election inconclusive when Adeleke was in a narrow lead. It took the former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore to defect to APC before the ruling party could win the election. Even at that, the Election Tribunal ruled in favour of Adeleke, but the Supreme Court later reversed the decision in favour of Oyetola.
Many Nigerians had assumed that Adeleke won the election but that the process was allegedly tampered with to favour Oyetola. The rivalry between Oyetola and Adeleke will come to the open again on July 16 when the duo battle for the soul of the Osun.
Gboyega Oyetola (APC)
Adegboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the APC, contested the Osun State governorship election on the platform of the same political party in 2018 and he won. On March 23, 2019, an election tribunal declared that he was not legally returned and ordered INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP, but it was overturned by the Supreme Court. Prior to his emergence as governor, he was the Chief of Staff to former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, his predecessor.
Oyetola was born in Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State on September 29, 1954. He attended the University of Lagos and graduated with a Bachelor of Science honours degree in Insurance in 1978. He obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos in 1990.
Oyetola, is currently at loggerheads with some members of APC in Osun, which forced the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun, to leave APC to contest on the platform of Labour Party (LP).
Adeleke is also facing a similar fate as Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, the candidate of the Accord Party (AP), also defected to AP after he lost out in the parallel primaries conducted by the PDP to elect its candidate
Oyetola emerged as the APC flag bearer in a congress that witnessed parallel exercise with the immediate past governor openly declared support for a faction in the party, The Osun Progressives, following a frosty relationship with Oyetola.
To date, there has not been a serious resolution of the crisis that led to the division in Osun APC.
Oyetola has said several times during the campaign that his achievements in office will get him the second term ticket. Analysts believe the incumbent governor has recorded modest achievements in critical areas like road infrastructure, education, health and added to this, he has ensured regular payment of salaries to workers.
Political watchers in the living spring state, as Osun is called, have commended Oyetola for being an easygoing personality. The hindrance on his way to victory may be the adamant position of The Osun Progressives, (TOP) who have refused to identify with his campaign.
TOP, which is headed by Aregbesola, also parades notable politicians and leaders who are capable of pulling a surprise and causing a serious setback for the governor at critical moments.
There is also the challenge posed by the governing party’s failure to announce the results of the State and National Assembly primaries. Many fear this may lead to disenchantment and anti-party sentiments going into the election.
Ademola Adeleke (PDP)
Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the PDP, represented the Osun-West Senatorial District between 2017 and 2019. He is from the Adeleke family of Ede in Osun State.
A businessman and administrator, he served as an Executive Director at Guinness Nigeria Plc between 1992 and 1999. He started his political career in 2001 alongside his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who died in April 2017. He contested in the Osun-West 2017 by-election after the death of his brother, emerging as the winner under the PDP.
On July 23, 2018, Adeleke emerged as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Osun State after defeating Akin Ogunbiyi by seven votes. He contested in the Osun governorship election on the platform of the PDP against top contenders like Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Chief Iyiola Omisore of SDP on September 22, 2018. The election was declared inconclusive by INEC and a supplementary election was held on September 27, 2018. The candidate of the APC, Oyetola, was declared winner after a run-off election.
Adeleke, who narrowly lost to Oyetola in 2018, is seen as a hot contender for the governorship ticket. With the backing of his multi-millionaire brother, Deji Adeleke, many believe he may spring a surprise in the election, if the PDP in Osun resolves to unite ahead of the election.
Also to Adeleke’s advantage is the fact that the people in Osun West, where he hails from, have been clamouring to take another shot at the governorship. Apart from the late Senator Adetunji Isiaka Adeleke from Osun West, the people say it is their turn to produce a governor for the state. Aregbesola is from Osun East, other past governors including Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Bisi Akande and Oyetola, are from Osun Central. This development may favour Adeleke next month.
The 62-year-old politician has continued to enjoy the goodwill of his brothers – late Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke and Dr Deji Adeleke. The late Senator Adeleke was the first civilian governor of the state, while Dr Adeleke is a businessman and father of popular musician, David Adeleke, also known as Davido.
Ademola’s late brother, Senator Adeleke was before his death, a prominent politician in the state with a lot of followers. Majority of those supporting Ademola Adeleke now are doing so because of the late Isiaka Adeleke, given their relationship with the deceased.
Police/Other Security Agencies
Still basking in the euphoria of its performance in Ekiti during the Ekiti State governorship election, the Nigeria Police Force has vowed to continue the good work in Osun State during the July 16 governorship election.
As part of efforts to ensure there is no bias, Commissioner of Police in Osun, Olawale Olokode, has been temporarily moved to the Force Headquarters, pending the conclusion of the governorship election when he would return to the state.
The Police headquarters said they have to do this to ensure “transparency, professional and proactive as possible in all our engagements and operations in the Osun governorship election, hence the deployment of senior officers from the Federal Headquarter to oversee the election security in the state. The IG has ordered necessary deployment of both human and material assets to fortify the state for the exercise.”
With a high level of preparation by the INEC, political parties and the security agencies, one is looking forward to an interesting governorship election in Osun State.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
