All eyes on Ademola Adeleke to Perform

Having received the mandate, which many believe was denied him in 2018, Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has tough tasks ahead to justify the confidence of his people, Ejiofor Alike reports

After the failed attempt by the police and the agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to nail him with an allegation of  examination malpractices, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ademola Adeleke last Saturday won a tough electoral battle to regain the mandate, which many believe was snatched from him in 2018.

According to the results announced by the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the PDP governorship candidate polled 403,371 votes to defeat incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the APC, who scored 375,027 votes.

The results also showed that Mr. Kehinde Atanda of the ADP polled 10,104 votes;  Akinade Ogunbiyi of Accord, 4,515 votes; Yussuff Lasun of LP, 2,729; Awojide Segun of AAC, 2,148 votes; Ademola Adeseye of YPP, 1,303 votes; Awoyemi Lukuman of APM, 1,222 votes; and Ayowole Adedeji of PRP, 1,007 votes. Adeleke’s wide acceptability by the people of the state was manifested in his 403,371 votes, which are more than the combined 401,083 votes polled by the other 14 candidates.  In all the previous elections he contested, Adeleke had always enjoyed the overwhelming support of the people of the state. When he contested for the Osun West senatorial by-election  in 2017 following the death of his elder brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of the state, the APC leaders denied him the party’s senatorial ticket to complete his brother’s tenure.

But he crossed over to the PDP and defeated the candidate of the ruling APC in the state.

In 2018, he vied for the governorship position on the platform of the PDP with Oyetola of the APC but lost with less than 400 votes after a controversial rerun election, which many believe was contrived by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rob him of victory.

When it was obvious that Adeleke was coasting home to victory in the main governorship election conducted on September 22, 2018, INEC had in a controversial circumstance, cancelled the results from seven polling units in four local government areas in the state, and ordered a rerun poll.

At the end of the rerun poll, the electoral umpire declared Oyetola winner, which was disputed by Adeleke who filed a petition before the tribunal challenging INEC’s declaration.

(Thisday)