Osun poll: Adeleke accuses APC, Oyetola of plans to rig election

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has accused the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, of making remarks that allegedly suggest plans by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to manipulate Saturday’s governorship election.

Adeleke made the allegation in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, and obtained by journalists in Osogbo on Sunday.

The governor’s reaction followed comments made by Oyetola on Saturday while addressing APC stakeholders and supporters in Osun State.

Oyetola, who served as governor of the state before losing his re-election bid to Adeleke in 2022, had urged the incumbent governor to prepare for defeat in the August 15 election.

He also said Adeleke’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election would not prevent the APC from reclaiming the state.

The minister was responding to allegations by Adeleke that members of the APC and leaders of the Accord Party were being subjected to intimidation ahead of the poll.

Speaking in Yoruba, Oyetola suggested that Adeleke’s complaints reflected an awareness that his political hold on the state was weakening.

He said the governor’s endorsement of Tinubu would not guarantee his retention of the governorship.

“They realised that they are already losing out. Then they claimed to have endorsed us. He almost cried. Endorsement cannot retain this seat for you. We are taking it over.

“If you like, make 10 endorsements, we will collect this one from you,” Oyetola said.

Adeleke described the remarks as an “open threat” to the credibility of the election and urged democracy advocates and other stakeholders to pay close attention to the development.

The governor also called for a transparent and credible electoral process, insisting that the people of Osun should be allowed to freely determine who governs them.

According to Adeleke, Oyetola’s statement, including the Yoruba expression “A maa gba lowo e,” which translates to “we will snatch it from him,” amounted to an indication that the APC was preparing to undermine the electoral process.

Adeleke argued that his decision to endorse Tinubu for a second term demonstrated his political strength and confidence in his ability to mobilise votes for the President in Osun State in 2027.

He further accused Oyetola of undermining the image of Tinubu through what he described as actions capable of weakening the APC’s popularity among residents.

“Oyetola’s anti-people, anti-democracy activities are tarnishing the image of Mr President and deepening the unpopularity of Osun APC among voters and residents,” Adeleke said.

He added that the remarks by a serving minister amounted to an alarming statement against the conduct of a free and fair election.

“A serving minister of the Republic had made an open threat against a free and fair election. The minister has personally confirmed all previous reports that Osun APC has lost the electoral confidence of the people and is therefore focused only on rigging next Saturday,” he stated.

Adeleke also accused the minister of making light of incidents in which Accord supporters were allegedly attacked during the election period.

“The minister has made a mockery of innocent Accord members who were killed and maimed by APC thugs in cold blood in the last two months. He has told the world that he is pushing to deny the people their rights to vote and be voted for,” he alleged.

The governor, however, expressed confidence that voters would resist any attempt to interfere with the electoral process.

“The bad news for the minister is that Osun people are determined to resist his sadistic agenda. Our people rejected him in 2022, and they will reject his surrogate candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, next Saturday,” he said.

Adeleke maintained that he remained confident of victory, attributing his optimism to what he described as widespread support from voters.

“As for us, we are winning this election by the grace of God and mass support of the people. We are not going to snatch the democratic rights of the people as Mr Oyetola had threatened. We will be re-elected by the choice of the voters,” he stated.

Osun poll: Adeleke accuses APC, Oyetola of plans to rig election