Adeleke: PDP set for ‘battle royal’ with Aregbesola

OLUSESAN LAOYE and SEGUN ADEYEMI OSOGBO
The emergence of late Senator Isiaka Adeleke’s brother, Ademola, as the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming July 8 2017 by- election in Osun West Senatorial District has now drawn a new battle line between the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) ruling the state under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
The osun state governor Aregbesola according to reports is keenly interested in the election which would determine his popularity in the state with less than two years to quit office. The election would not only determine his own popularity but would determine the strength of the APC during the governorship election in 2018
Apart from this the PDP too intends to use the election to know how relevant the party is in Osun state before the next governorship election and they are not in any way taking the election for granted. With Aregbesola’s candidate Senator Mudashiru Oyetunde Hussein eventually picked to run for the Senatorial bye-Election, it has shown that the battle is between whoever the opposition present and Aregbesola.
Before last week’s Tuesday when Senator Hussein finally picked the ticket of the APC Ademola, Adeleke’s younger brother, who was persuaded by his brother’s supporters and well wishers in Osun and beyond, looked set for the race under the platform of the APC, as he was already cleared as the candidate by the screening committee and the Appeal committee of the APC. He had scaled through the screening of the two APC electoral bodies, only for his candidacy to be nullified at the last minute by the National Working Committee of the APC when he would have been returned unopposed by the party delegates billed for the primary.
APC regarded NWC as the highest ruling body which has a final say on any matter in the party including who occupies any elected position.
The ticket was eventually given to Senator Hussein who has been Aregbesola’s ally right from Lagos. The action generated sharp reactions from the people of the State who felt that the Adelekes were not fairly treated by Aregbesola and the top echelons of the party in Lagos and Abuja.
As a result of the treatment Adeleke and his supporters had to withdraw from the race in APC and accepted the offer to contest in the PDP, where they were before they defected to the APC two weeks to the last governorship election in Osun State which gave Aregbesola a second term.

Although there are other candidates from other political parties contesting the Osun West Senatorial by Election, the two political parties in the battle of wit and strength are the APC and the PDP. This has also been the scenario in virtually all the elections that have been taken place in Osun State. According to the time table of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the political parties with candidates in the election, include, APGA, SDP, ASDA, Labour, UPN, the National Conscience, and Accord among others.
Before now, there were 20 people from different political parties who jostled for Isiaka Adeleke’s seat in the Senate before the primaries of their various political parties, which reduced the number especially in the PDP and the APC where the highest aspirants emerged.
How Ademola Adeleke emerged
Although he is a new comer in active politics, he has always been with his brother all the time and he too has been influential in the politics of Osun with his brother’s influence without being a practicing politician. When his brother died those who were with him both within and outside the party, took a decision to honour Senator Adeleke who has been generous to them. The issue was tabled and it was decided that Ademola should step into his brother’s shoes. He was initially reluctant, and told them that he wanted to face his business abroad. But the entire supporters of Isiaka prevailed on him to accept the offer since he too has been involved in politics but not active.
With this, a committee was set up to decide the Federal constituency that would have it in Osun West Senatorial District. The APC then decided that Ede Federal constituency should have it since Isiaka was from that Federal constituency. Consultations were made and Ademola was close to picking the ticket of the party when the sledge hammer of the party fell on him. Although he initially met a brick wall in PDP but for the fact that majority of the people in the party had sympathy in the he was treated by the APC decided that he should be given the ticket. That was why the likes of Col Layiwola Talabi and Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi stepped down for him.
How Hussein emerged the flag bearer of APC
Hussein is regarded as an astute politician, who has been winning elections since he started politics in Lagos during the Alliance for Democracy (AD) days, when he was elected into the House of Representatives in 1999 as a member for Isolo\ Oshodi Federal constituency up till 2013. He was reelected for a second term in 2003 and served till 2007. He later moved to Osun his original State to contest the Osun West Senatorial seat in 2011 till 2015.
Ironically it was from late Senator Isiaka Adeleke that he took over from, when he won with 121,971 votes against Adeleke’s 77,090 votes. Again in 2015, he and Isiaka Adeleke went into the primaries and Adeleke defeated him to emerge a second time Senator, until he died suddenly and in what was describe has mystery to everybody in the state and the entire country. Hussein who was a commissioner in Osun state at the time he emerged the candidate of APC as an anointed friend of Aregbesola slugged it out with Isiaka Adeleke’s Ademola. They both went for the screening of the APC. He was disqualified by the screening committee, on the ground that he did not resign his appointment as commissioner before he decided to contest the election.
But suddenly on the day of the primary when it was believed that the ticket of the APC would be given to Ademola, his name surfaced based on the directives of the National Working Committee of the Party in Abuja. This however jolted members of the party and Adeleke’s supporters who on that same day moved to the PDP where Ademola eventually got the ticket of the party.
Senator Hussein’s was recently given a knock for accepting to serve as a commissioner under Aregbesola after had been a Member of the House of Representatives as a Senator. His commissionership appointment was regarded as a demotion. But in order to bounce back he was picked by his friend Governor Aregbesola to checkmate Adeleke who is from the same Federal constituency that the senatorial District with him
However in his reaction after he emerged the candidate of the APC, he said that he would defeat Ademola because he had defeated his brother before. He pointed out that his emergence was not out of place and it was an act of God, saying that he is looking forward to his return to the Senate after the July 8 election.
Ede and Ejigbo in Osun West
Ironically both towns share common interests and they are regarded as family in terms of backgrounds. In fact most of the compounds that exist in Ejigbo exist in Ede and that is why they are both in Ede federal constituency. Again there has always been a natural zoning between the two communities politically. When Ede is having the senatorial seat, Ejigbo would go for the House of Representatives. This has been an age long tradition, which existed before the death of Isiaka Adeleke.
What BusinessHallmark learnt that the people of the Senatorial District are angry because of the way Aregbesola was said to have been imposing his will on the people. Right now Ejigbo is presenting the speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and as well a member of the House of Representatives. With the emergence of Hussein from the same Ejigbo, it means Ejigbo would now have three slots in the same Federal constituency if he wins the election and that is why the PDP is working very hard to ensure that Demola gets elected so that the Senatorial seat could come back to Ede for the term of Isiaka to be completed.
Some people felt that the governor could have allowed the relationship that exist between the two towns to stay and they felt that it was a way of paving the way for his own governorship candidate in another Senatorial zone in 2018 and get Osun West divided. It was also viewed as a ploy to whittle down the Adeleke political dynasty in Osun state. As a member of the Adeeke group said, what happened now was an indication that the battle line had been drawn between late Senator Adeleke and the governor. He pointed out that the governor exhibited that again during the list of those who were appointed as commissioners and Local government care taker council chairmen and councilors was announced. He argued that despite the fact that late Adeleke was having constant rapport with the governor, over the list and the governor kept promising him that he should not worry, at the end of the day none of Senator Adeleke’s nominees got appointed.
In his reaction after Ademola had defected to the PDP, the Director of Publicity and strategy, of the APC Barrister Kune Oyatomi, said Ademola was never a member of the party and that his resignation was needless.
Oyatomi said “let me make it clear at the outset that Otunba Ademola Adeleke has been riding on mischief all along, concocting false and irrational explanations as a subterfuge for his failed attempt to destabilize our party in the state.”
“Available records now reveal that Ademola was never a member of APC in the state, as there is no evidence of his registration as a member in his Abogunde/Sagba Ward 2 in Ede North LGA. There are also no records of his involvement in party meetings at all levels”, Oyatomi added.
While Ademola was received in the PDP and given the ticket of the party to contest against Hussain, the committee set up by APC national headquarters still included Ademola in the APC primary. At the end of the election, Hussain got 2,412 votes while Ademola scored only one vote.