Osun West Poll:  Fayose Praises Aregbesola’s Maturity, Congratulates Adeleke

• Onyeama: we’ve learnt lesson
•APC lost poll due to impunity, says Frank
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti


Following the triumph of Dr. Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last Saturday’s senatorial poll in Osun West, the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose,  has congratulated  the winner.
Adeleke defeated his closest rival and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Mudashiru Hussain, in the election.

In a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, the governor said the victory showed that
Ademola’s elder brother, Isiaka, whose death led to the by-election, did not die in vain.
The governor noted that Isiaka would be happy wherever he is, urging Ademola to see the victory as a call to service and not opportunity to amass wealth.

“This victory is an invitation and a call to serve your state, Nigeria and mankind. After election, what should come next is how to bring dividends of democracy to the people and how to continue with the legacy of the Adeleke family which accounted for the love displayed by the people for you and which translated to the electoral victory.
“You are responsible to all your constituents without discrimination of any sort. Having been born to a family of great politicians, with your father serving as a senator in the Second Republic, your elder brother being a former governor and senator, no doubt, you must have undergone political tutelage that you should put to practice to excel in your new calling,” he said.

Fayose also commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for being an epitome of democracy by conceding defeat, a quality Fayose said was rare among many politicians.
“If it were some politicians that we know, they will still be licking their wounds three years after being woefully beaten in an election,” he stated.

The governor also lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being transparent and urged that such should be the case in future elections in the country.
He also commended security agencies for ensuring that there was no breakdown of law and order during the exercise.
Meanwhile, the suspended Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Timi Frank, has blamed the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party for party’s  loss of the Osun West senatorial seat to the PDP last Saturday.
But the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, said rather than lamenting over the loss, it has served as a lesson to the APC.

Onyeama who spoke with journalists yesterday at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja said: “You learn from everything and we learn from defeat than we learn from victory. I think it is a good lesson in terms of just, organising and staying together in particular state and avoid what’s not collective in the party because it is a collective thing.”

Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, Frank said it was appalling that Adeleke left the APC for the PDP because of the inconsistency of the party leadership and came back to defeat the party.
He said: “I expect Oyegun to have resigned by now after the defeat of the APC in the Osun West senatorial election, but I know that he will not. Oyegun caused our defeat in the election because of his failure as a leader. (Ademola) Adeleke left the APC for the PDP because of the inconsistency of the party leadership and came back to defeat the party.”

He said the APC candidate in the election, Mudashiru was disqualified by both the screening and appeal committees set up by the party for not resigning his position as a commissioner in the state. But the party rejected their report and went ahead to clear him.
“If they knew what they were doing, Adeleke would not have left the APC and we would have been celebrating another victory now. The APC ticket would have been given to him because of the death of his brother. It has happened before because when Okadigbo died, his seat was given to his wife. Some of us actually suggested that the ticket be given to him.

“Oyegun’s illegality brought us to this level. It is a shame on the APC to lose that by-election in a state where it has a sitting governor. If Oyegun fails to resign, APC will continue to face defeat under his leadership,” Frank said.
On the chances of the party ahead of future elections, Frank said: “With the manner in which we are going now, I do not see victory for us in 2019.”