Politics
Osun poll: Parties in war of words
By OLUSESAN LAOYE
All is now set for the Osun governorship election which is just five days from today. The election could be described as a journey which started four years ago when the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola won in a controversial manner.
Now at an end, a new beginning of another four years race is about to be determined through the coming Saturday’s election where about fifteen political parties are participating.
From all indications, virtually all the stakeholders in the election have shown their readiness for the election and they are as well not taken chances and gearing towards making the best outing, as not to be found wanting or record any flaws.
The major stake holders are the politicians and they are daily intensifying their campaigns and sensitization of the electorate and engaging in activities as to why they must be voted for.
As part of mobilizations for support, candidates of the political parties it was observed are using the mood of the Eid- Kabir festival, to distribute gifts to woo voters.
It was said that some of them have spent several millions in purchasing gif items, which are now visible across the State. This, it was alleged could be a strategy for vote burying ahead of the Saturday election.
It was also said that the smart strategy, is to hand over the gifts items ranging from rams, chickens, clothes along with cash to the local governments chairmen of their political parties who would in turn hand them over to the ward chairmen for onward distributions to members and other electorates in their respective wards, whom they had identified that would vote for them.
This method, it was said, was adopted to forestall vote buying incidence on the day of election, as they would not be found liable inducing electorate at this period as it would be counted as just mere gift and appreciation, unlike the election day when it would be regarded as pure vote buying.
Although a political analyst believed that since the yuletide largesse would not go round now, there would still be the tendency to adopt a smarter way of doling out money to voters on election day, which would not be glaring as that of the Ekiti state held on June 18 this year.
He posited that since dolling out money on election day has become the norms in Nigeria, such would still happen despite what the politicians have done before the day. He further argued that even those who were settled before Saturday, would still want something to take home on that day.
Elaborating on the preparation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said that all logistics have been provided and the Commission is fully ready for the governorship election.
He pointed out that they have learnt one or two things from the Ekiti Election and the mistakes which are going to be corrected in the Osun polls.
He said all election materials have been provided for a hitch free election. “We have made sure that all activities are being intensified on our part to ensure the success of the election”.
The INEC boss made specific reference to the glaring vote buying in the June 16 governorship election in Ekiti state and promised that the Osun election would be monitored properly to ensure that such activities are not carried out as it was done in Ekiti.
He then assured that those found culpable in Ekiti for vote burying would be prosecuted. On the part of the police, he said they have assured that the state would be adequately policed to ensure effective security on the day of the election.
The state commissioner of Police Olawale Olokode said that they have held a peace meeting with the political parties and they have all assured them that they would maintain peace during the election.
He, however disclosed that the police would deal drastically with any one trying to disrupt the election or fomenting trouble, saying, that adequate personnel have been provided to cover the whole state during the election.
Meanwhile, the political parties which are the major actors in the poll have continued to intensify their campaigns across the state as they engage in war of words and destructions of each others bill boards and posters. From what is on ground and observations, the parties are seeing the election as a real battle which they must win at all cost.
Already, over fifteen political parties are engaging in the election but only five are prominent and have shown commitments.
While two of them, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fielding Ademola Adeleke and the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the incumbent Gboyega Oyetola as its candidate are regarded as the giants of the election, three others – the Labour, having former Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives Lasun Yisuf, the Social Democratic Party, (SDP) fielding Omigbodun Oyegoke and the Accord Party (AC) with Akin Ogunbiyi are regarded as under dogs.
As the campaigns are intensified, it was glaring that only the PDP and the APC are consolidating their gains and structures for the elections. The campaigns.of others are not solidly on ground and they are not noticed at all.
The candidates of the Labour Party Lasun Yisuf and that of the SDP Omigbodun have not shown sufficient efforts to indicate that they are in the contest.
Akin Ogunbiyi of the Accord party who has shown some seriousness could not at this point meet the financial capability of the campaign and could not as well match both the structure and financial strength of both the APC and the PDP .
Although Ogunbiy is adopting a subtle house to house campaign, the effects on the people and streets are not visible. Despite this, he is said to be hopeful and ready to out-wit the two strong ones.
Also Ogunbiyi is said to be banking on the fact that the people of Osun state are yearning for a change and departure from the old order of the PDP and the APC, it is not certain that he could beat the APC and PDP who are already spending frantically for the election.
With the PDP and APC proving to others that the governorship fight is actually between the duo, their attitudes during the campaigns going on is a pointer to that.
Demola Adeleke, who has been going round the state has been castigating the APC government of Oyetola and wooing people to his side, saying that the APC has not shown good governance and that it has refused to industrialize the state despite its 12 years in office consecutively.
He promised the people that he would bring a lot of investments that would create employments for the youths and encourage commercial activities.
In his own campaign speeches, Governor Oyetola has been telling the people that the Adeleke’s PDP is not an alternative to the APC where he wants a second term. He said what the state needs now, is continuity and he is still the man to beat.
He said as at the weekend he has gone round 28 local governments of the state out of 30 for his first round of campaigns while he would for the second time touch all the local governments in three days before the deadline for the end of campaigns and political activities.
Right now, both the APC and the PDP have been engaging in war of words and destroying each others’ bill boards and posters which political observers say is not healthy for democracy and could lead to mayhem on the day of the elections, if their respective supporters are not put to order.
Also the two parties have been witnessing decamping. While people are moving from PDP to APC there are those moving from APC too. Though before now, there had been cracks in both parties they are trying to mend their fences before the election and as such there has been alignments and realignments going on here and there.
This has led to some of the people and loyalists of the former governor of the state and now Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, declaring their support for Oyetola’s reelection.
For instance, the former speaker of the Osun state House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam and the National Commissioner for the National Population Commission, Senator Mudashiru Hussain have pledge their supporters for Oyetola, asking their supporters to vote for him.
Salam said that since he is in APC he would rather prefer his party to win than any other political party in the State.
Also, Senator Hussain argued that PDP despite its notice is not an alternative that the people of Osun state want and that its candidate is not a mach to Oyetola. While some in Aregbesola’s camp have gone back to Oyetola there are those who joined Demola Adeleke in PDP.
What is happening now is an indication that the camp of Aregbesola is cracking deeply and may not be able to realise its mission of not wanting Oyetola back in power.
The leader of the group Alhaji Salinsile has said that the camp is solidly on ground and still very sure that their candidate Aljaji Moshood Adeoti would be the person to represent the APC in the election which is five days right at the corner
In his reaction the Director General for Oyetola campaign council Senator Ajibola Bashiru, said that they are sure of victory and not bothered with the rantings of other political parties, especially the PDP.
The Special Adviser to Govermor Oyetola on political matters and former Commissioner of Information under Aregbesola Hon. Sunday Akere has said that the decamping of some APC members to.the PDP is inconsequential to what the party has on ground to see it to victory.
Prince Diran Odeyemi the Chairman of the Media Committee of the Adeleke campaign organisation said the APC is jealous of the inroads the PDP has made and the acceptability of the party by the people and that is why the party has resolved to destroy PDP’s billboards and posters. He said that this would not prevent the PDP from winning the election.
Meanwhile, all the big names in the politics of Nigeria especially within the APC and PDP have been trooping into Osun state to give their candidates support.
It was argued that the APC is mobilizing to ensure that it gets Osun to boost the chances of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu who is the party’s presidential candidate from the South West.
