Osun 2022: 3 Important Facts You Don’t Know as Oyetola, Adeleke Back on Battlefield Again
As the Osun 2020 governorship election knocks on your door, Bada Yusuf brings you three important points for you to note
Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to battle Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) again on Saturday, July 16, Osun state governorship election.
The race is not just between the APC and the PDP. Other contenders include Goke Omigbogun of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Akin Ogunbiyi of the Accord Party (AP), and Lasun Yusuff of the Labour Party.
Source: Twitter
However, Oyetola and Adeleke appear to be the two strongest contenders in the election. This is owing to some factors that will be explained below.
Adeleke won Oyetola in 2018 before the rerun
Adeleke won Oyetola with 353 votes in the first round of the election in 2018, but the election was declared inconclusive by INEC.
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According to INEC, the total number of registered voters in the 7 polling units where elections were cancelled was higher than the differences between the votes of Adeleke and Oyetola.
Tribune stated that the total number of registered voters was 3,498, while the differences between the two strongest contenders are 353.
In the rerun election, Oyetola defeated Adeleke with 482 votes.
Absence of Aregbesola, Lasun Yussuff from Oyetola's campaign a big blow
Meanwhile, the absence of Rauf Aregbesola, the former governor of Osun state and current minister of internal affairs, from Oyetola's campaigns is a big blow.
Although Aregbesola's second term as governor almost ruined Oyetola's chances in the 2018 election because of his half-salary policy, his charisma is missed in Oyetola's campaigns ahead of Saturday.
On June 27, The Punch reported that 'The Osun Progressives', a faction in the APC backed by Aregbesola, stated that Oyetola and their leader are yet to reconcile.
This could mean they're secretly working for another candidate, which could scuttle the ruling party's chances.
Also, the defection of Lasun Yussuff, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Labour Party is a big threat.
This became obvious when the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, specifically tackled the Labour Party in his speech at the party's rally on Tuesday, July 12.
Voters' inducement and intimidation
Osun election in 2018 was marred with voters' inducement and intimidation. This is likely to repeat itself as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern over it.
In a viral video, Adeleke, at a PDP rally, said he had come for the election with Dollars, Pounds and other foreign currencies. However, he rephrased this during one of the governorship debates, saying what he meant by that was to bring in investors to the state using his influence.
Ahead of the 2018 elections, Legit.ng reported how voters were being induced to sell their votes for 10,000 Naira. The price could be increased with hard currencies in town.
Judging by the election result cited above, the position of Adeleke's family in Osun politics, their popularity and philanthropic activities made many electorates vote for Adeleke.
Conversely, Oyetola is a sitting governor and a ruling party member. Therefore, if the majority of the electorates decided to go for Adeleke, that might result in voters' intimidation, as happened in 2018.
Osun 2022: 5 Prominent PDP Governors Absent at Adeleke's Campaign
Legit.ng reveals that 5 top PDP governors were not seen at the Adeleke governorship campaign in Osun on Thursday, July 14.
The campaign was held ahead of the July 16 governorship election in the state. However, the 5 absent governors were named deputy chairmen of the PDP campaign.
PDP presidential candidate led the rally in the 2023 poll, Atiku Abubakar, and the national, Iyiorcha Ayu. They urged the residents to vote for Ademola Adeleke.
Source: Legit.ng
