VOL. 9. NO.096 N50 50 50 50 50 TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014 www.osundefender.org THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA Front Page Comment •The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (arrowed), showing his appreciation to his suppoters of Osun after the INEC declared him as the winner of the 2014 governorship election last Sunday at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI. - See Story On Page 2 - See Story On Page 3 Aregbesola Floors Jonathan, Omisore, PDP, Others Osun 2014 Governorship Election: •Jubilations Galore Across Osun Omisore’s Running Mate, PDP Chair, Ex-Minister, Others Lose Polling Units - Pg 3 Ooni Congratulates Aregbesola Over Re- election - Pg 2 Omisore, Akinbade Accept Defeat - Pg 4 Let’s Work Together To Develop Osun - Aregbesola Tells PDP Osun and 2015: The game changer The victory of the All Progressives Con- gress, APC in last Saturday’s guberna- torial election in Osun State reinforces the opposition against a seemingly rampaging political train of President Goodluck Jonathan It was a welcome relief to the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Those who saw him yesterday morning as the result of the Osun State governorship poll was declared said they saw a man greatly relieved but reinforced for the battle ahead. Besides being an elixir to the opposi- tion that was badly traumatized by defeat in Ekiti a month ago, the Osunvictory acts as a spring for the opposition towards the 2015 presidential prize that was being consid- ered a foregone booty of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The message yesterday was that 2015 is still within play. Despite earlier claims by the APC that the presidency was determined to rig the election in favour of the PDP’s Senator Iyiola Omisore, the outcome of the election showed the limit to which President Goodluck Jonathan would go in forcing his will on the electorate. Continue on pg6
Transcript
VOL. 9. NO.096 NNNNN5050505050TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014
www.osundefender.org THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA
Front Page Comment
- Pg 9
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (arrowed), showing his appreciation to his suppoters of Osun after the INECdeclared him as the winner of the 2014 governorship election last Sunday at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.
Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
- See StoryOn Page 2
- See StoryOn Page
3
Aregbesola Floors Jonathan,Omisore, PDP, Others
Osun 2014 Governorship Election:
•Jubilations Galore Across Osun Omisore’s RunningMate, PDP Chair,Ex-Minister,Others LosePolling Units
Let’s Work Together To Develop Osun - Aregbesola Tells PDP
Osun and 2015: The game changerThe victory of the AllProgressives Con-gress, APC in lastSaturday’s guberna-torial election in OsunState reinforces theopposition against aseemingly rampagingpolitical train ofPresident GoodluckJonathan
It was a welcomerelief to the nationalleader of the APC,Asiwaju Bola AhmedTinubu.Those who saw himyesterday morning as
the result of the OsunState governorship pollwas declared said theysaw a man greatlyrelieved but reinforced forthe battle ahead.Besides being an
elixir to the opposi-tion that was badlytraumatized bydefeat in Ekiti amonth ago, theOsunvictory acts asa spring for the
opposition towards the2015 presidential prizethat was being consid-ered a foregone bootyof the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP.The message yesterday
was that 2015 is stillwithin play. Despiteearlier claims by the APCthat the presidency wasdetermined to rig theelection in favour of thePDP’s Senator IyiolaOmisore, the outcome ofthe election showed thelimit to which PresidentGoodluck Jonathanwould go in forcing hiswill on the electorate.
Continue on pg6
2OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 News
•Some of the Youths carrying a mock coffin and picture of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the defeated Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) governorship candidate in 2014 election. Photo GBEBGA ADENIYI.
By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI
By SOLA JACOBS
Aregbesola Floors Jonathan, Omisore, PDP, OthersIN spite of all intimidation and harassment of All
Progressives Congress (APC) members by securityoperatives under the command of Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) chieftains in the State of Osun, the incumbentgovernor and candidate of the APC in the just-concludedgubernatorial election in the state, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, has flatly defeated the PDP and its candidate,Mr. Iyiola Omisore.
Aregbesola, according toProfessor Bamitale Omole,the Vice-Chancellor ofObafemi AwolowoUniversity (OAU) and theChief Presiding Officer forthe election, polled 394,684votes to defeat Omisore,who polled 292, 747 votes
and Alhaji Fatai Akinbade ofthe Labour Party (LP), whocame distant third with 8,494votes.
The incumbent governorhad had a hectic time weeksahead of the keenlycontested election withPresident Goodluck
Jonathan and top echelon ofthe PDP literarily declaringwar on the state and herresidents with the suddeninvasion of the state bymask-wearing securityoperatives, who made itclear that they were actingon orders from above.
Jonathan had, during hisparty final campaign rally,told his party men andwomen in clear terms howimportant the Osungubernatorial election wasto his second term ambition,and the need for the state to
vote for the PDP, if they trulydesire to have federalpresence in their state.
To ensure walking histalk, the Jonathan-ledFederal Government had leftits coffers open for theprosecution of thegovernorship election in thestate, from where over N10billion was withdrawn toimplement the presidentialdirectives.
The current Minister ofPolice Affairs, Mr. JeliliAdesiyan and hiscounterpart in the defence
ministry, Mr. MusliuObanikoro, had used theirpositions in the FederalExecutive Council andpowers to the fullest byensuring unprecedentedinvasion of the state bysecurity men, all in the nameof ensuring security duringthe election.
The rampaging securityoperatives, especially thosefrom the Department ofState Security (DSS) hadimmediately on arrival, goneahead to do their master’sbidding by shootingsporadically into the air andharassing innocentmembers of the public, at atime, when the state was notat war.
In the face of all these
provocations, the ruling-APC in the state regularlyeducated its members neverto lose their cool on thesudden appearance ofmasked security operativesand even on one occasionadvised its members toexhibit the virtues ofOmoluabi in the stateresidents by beinghospitable to the securitymen.
The harassment andintimidation of the rulingparty members in the statedid not stop even on the eveof the election as someprominent members of theAPC were arrested andwhisked away toundisclosed locations.
How PDP Moneybags Politics Failed•Induces NYSC Members, Party Agents
Voters in the State of Osun during last Saturdaygovernorship election resisted monetaryinducement and security harassment and cameout to vote massively for Governor RaufAregbesola, the candidate of the All ProgressivesCongress (PDP).
In Osun CentralSenatorial District, whereour reporter visited duringthe election, the electionwas adjudged to havewitnessed highest turnoutin the history of electionin the state.
In Ila-Orangun, thePeoples DemocraticParty (PDP) leaderswere rolling out cash toinduce voters, as findingsfrom a polling unit in Ward4 indicated that they wereinducing voters withN10,000 and subjectedthem to spiritual oath.
However, a PDP partyagent, Suraj Akinjide, atthe Ila-Orangun palacepolling unit, denied theallegation, saying nothingof such happened at thepolling unit, but when hewas confronted by avoter, who had collectedthe money, Suraj said; “itwas not an inducement. Ijust settled him as afriend.”
The party chieftainswere also caughtdistributing money to thecorps members deployedfor the election, whilesome rejected the cashinducement, as a result ofan earlier warning fromINEC, it was found outthat some of the corpsmembers received thePDP cash of N50,000.
The situation remainedthe same in Ikirun, Otan-Ayegbaju, Iresi, Oke-Irun,Iree and Eripa, where ourreporter visited.
The method ofdistributing the cash,according to the findings,was through phonecontact to those fromwhom they had earliercollected the photocopiesof their voters’ cards.
A voter, who collectedthe money in OtanAyegbaju, who howeverpleaded annonymity said:“I was called on phone bya known PDP leader inOtan and offered me
N15,000 and promisedthat if I should bring avoter with card, I wouldreceive N5,000commission per voter andassured me that a policeofficer at the polling unitwould monitor me andprotect me.
“Few hours later, thepolice officer arrived theresidence of the PDPleader and handed over tohim N100,000. I collectedthe money and also tookeight people to the partyleader’s residence.”
Also at Eripa, somecorps members were alsoalleged to have beenbribed to be frustratingAPC supporters at thepoling unit.
At Ward 10 in Iree, aPDP leader wasconfronted at the pollingunit at Ansar-U-DeenPrimary School fordistributing money andlater chased away bysecurity agents.
However, most of thevoters, who collected themoney without voting forthem were said to havebeen threatened withdeath, as a result of theconvenant they enteredinto before collecting themoney.
Ooni Congratulates AregbesolaOver Re-electionThe Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, has
congratulated Governor Rauf Aregbesola and hisrunning mate over their victory in the governorshipelection held on Saturday.
In a congratulatorymessage forwarded to thedeputy governor onSaturday night, ObaSijuwade assured thedeputy governor, Otunba(Mrs) Grace TitilayoLaoye-Tomori, that thedespite the outcome of theelection, there is no andthere will be no fighting in
his domain because one ofhis subjects, who is thecandidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)hails from Ile Ife.
“Your Excellency,congratulations and thereis nobody fighting in Ife,”the Ooni said in hismessage
RESIDENTS of Ife South Local Government CouncilAreas of the State of Osun turned out massively tovote during last Saturday gubernatorial election in
the state in whicg the incumbent governor and candidateof the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, emerged the winner.
OSUN DEFENDER atYekemi, Aye-oba, Olode andIfetedo witnessed massiveturnout of voters in theirrespective polling units,awaiting accreditation.
In Ife Central LocalGovernment Council Areaof the state, specifically atIredunmi Unit of IremoWard 5, the accreditationexercise turned out bepeaceful, but at LadelatanUnit in Okerewe Ward of IfeEast Local GovernmentCouncil Area, there werepockets of skirmishes forreasons that could not beascertained as at when themedium visited the area.
At Ayeoba and Cokervillages respectively, votershad already finishedaccreditation as at 11.45am,while waiting for the votingexercise to begin.
At Oke- Ayepe area ofOlode, accreditationexercise had finished asearly as 11.50 am, whilevoters waited patiently tocast their vote.
At Akodi Adesigbin Unitin Ifetedo, voters wereaccredited as early as8.00pm and the medium sawHonourable Niyi Owolade,the governorship candidateof Accord Party (AP) in thestate, affirming that theaccreditation exercise washitch-free.
Also at the same unit,Honourable DiranAyanbeku, in an interactivesession with the medium,also confirmed that theaccreditation exercise washitch-free, as there wasmassive turn-out of voters.
At 11.45am, the mediumgathered that at AkodiAdesigbin area of the town,armed security-meninvaded the unit, which
resulted in APC membersfleeing from the unit forsafety, as they were notallowed to vote.
At Ologede, Odesanmiand Amula, voters weredisenfranchised, as peoplebelieved to be PDP thugstook over all the pollingbooths in the villages.
At Unit 4 of Ideta inIfetedo, the exercise went onsmoothly.
At Oke-Eso, Ikija, AkodiAjibike, CAC 1 and 2, BabaAkodi, Akodi Famoroti andAUD units, all in Ifetedo, theaccreditation exercise waswithout hitches, as well asthe voting exercise.
At noon, there was showof might between the menand officers of the Mobileunit of the Nigeria Police andNigerian Army at theentrance into the ancienttown.
According to an eye-witness account, some menin mobile police uniform,loaded in two Toyota Hiluxvans, had besieged theentrance of the town, onlyto be turned back by the menof Nigeria Army, whodemanded for their identity.
As the men could notgive any satisfactoryexplanation to the soldiers,they were turned back andthey headed back to Garage-Olode.
A source from Modakeke,headquarters of the AreaOffice, in a telephoneinterview with the medium,said the exercise was hitch-free but there wasclampdown on APC leaders,as one Moshood Oni waswhisked away by menbelieved to be securityoperatives without anyreason.
3 News OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
•(L-R) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, Mr Olusegun Agbaje; Vice Chancellor, Obafemi AwolowoUniversity (OAU), Professor Bamitale Omole; Supervising National Commissioner, Ambassador M.A Wali andINEC National Commissioner, Engineer Nuru Yakubu during the announcement of the 2014 governorship electionat INEC headquarters, Osogbo State of Osun, last Saturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
Change Of NameI, formerly known
and addressed asAYEYEMI KAZEEMADEDEJI, now wish tobe known andaddressed asADEYEMI KAZEEMADEDEJI. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public shouldtake note.
Change Of NameI, formerly known and
addressed as KAREEMK A B I L A TOMOBOLANLE, nowwish to be known andaddressed as KAREEMK A B I R A TOMOBOLANLE. Allformer documents remainvalid. General publicshould take note.
Change Of NameThis to notify the
members of the publicthat Miss ADEYEMOBLESSING is the sameperson as missA D E Y E M OFUNMILAYO BLESS-ING. The concern au-thority should pleasetake note
THE rejection of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)by the people of the State of Osun was further re-echoed at the Saturday governorship election in the
state, as majority of the party leaders lost the election intheir various polling units.
Honourable AdejareBello, the running mate toPDP candidate, SenatorIyiola Omisore, formerMinister of State forDefence, Erelu OlusolaObada, the party’s chairman,Alhaji Gani Ola-Oluwa and
Director of Publicity of theparty, Mr Diran Odeyemi,among others, lost in theirpolling units.
Bello voted at a pollingunit in Ede North LocalGovernment Council Area,where his party scored 30
votes, while the AllProgressives Congress(APC) scored 130 votes.
Olaoluwa voted at GRApolling unit, Ward 1, inOlorunda Local GovernmentCouncil Area, where hisparty scored 95 votes, asagainst 142 votes of the APC.
Former Minister of Statefor Defence, Erelu OlusolaObada, voted at Unit 1,Temidire Primary School,Ibodi, Ward 1, in AtakumosaWest Local GovernmentCouncil Area, where her
party scored 3 votes, whilethe APC scored 300 votes.
The Director of Publicityof the PDP in the state, MrDiran Odeyemi, wasdefeated at unit 2, UND,Ward 1 in Obokun LocalGovernment Council Area,where APC had 215 votesagainst the PDP’s 113.
The APC also defeatedthe Public Relations Officerof the PDP, Mr Bola Ajao, atpolling unit 9, Ward 8 inIkirun, Ifelodun LocalGovernment Council Area,
where the PDP polled 126against the APC’s 208.
Also, former Chairman ofthe State Universal BasicEducation Board (SUBEB),Mr Jao Obadare losthis Ward 5, Ijana-Wasare,Atakumosa-West LocalGovernment Council Area tothe APC, same with ChiefJoshua Ogunleye, formerlawmaker from Ward, 3 inOsu in the same councilarea.
Former members of theHouse Representatives,Honourable Wole Oke, losthis Esa-Oke community tothe APC.
However, Governor RaufAregbesola, who voted atPolling Unit 1, Ward 8, Ifofinin Ilesa, Ilesa-East LocalGovernment Council Area,led a profound victory forhimself, as he polled 309votes, while the PDP hadonly 40 votes.
The state DeputyGovernor, Mrs TitilayoTomori also won in her unitin Osogbo.
Omisore, the flag bearer ofthe PDP, polled 149 voted,while the APC had 73 votesat polling 1, Ward 05, in IfeCentral Local GovernmentCouncil Area.
Senator Isiaka Adetunji
Adeleke proved his mettleas a political leader with wideacceptance in Ede- NorthLocal Government, as theAPC scored 640 votes, whilethe PDP polled 9 votes.
Interim Chairman of theAPC, Elder AdelowoAdebiyi, delivered his IsoloUnit in Ward 4, AtakumosaWest Local GovernmentCouncil Area for the partywith 108, while the PDP had59 votes.
Similarly, the APC won inUnit 3, Iloro Market, Ward6, State Commissioner forInformation and Strategy,Mr Sunday Akere deliveredwith 79 votes against thePDP’s 42 votes.
Commissioner for LocalGovernment andChieftaincy Affairs, AlhajiKolapo Alimi, delivered hispolling unit 8, Ward 9, inIrepodun Local GovernmentCouncil Area with 131 votesagainst 44 vote of the PDP.
The APC won in unit 3,Ward 7, in Osogbo LocalGovernment Council Area,where the Commissioner forSpecial Duties and RegionalIntegration, Ajibola Basirudelivered with 214 votes,while the PDP polled 35votes.
Let’s Work Together To DevelopOsun - Aregbesola Tells PDP
GOVERNOR of the State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, has called on his opponents from otherpolitical parties in last Saturdays’s election to join
hands with him in the onerous task of moving the stateforward.
The governor made thestatement on Sunday at theNASFAT Prayer Ground inOsogbo, where he went fora thanksgiving programmeto mark his victory in thej u s t - c o n c l u d e dgubernatorial election.
He said opposition will bewelcomed to partner withthe present government forthe upliftment of the state,the growth of the nation andthat of the status of the blackman.
He said theircollaboration will beappreciated to enhance theefforts his government ismaking to improve the livingcondition of the people ofthe state, as a step towardsenabling the black manworldwide.
Ogbeni Aregbesola, whothanked God and the peopleof the state for voting himduring the election, said thevictory marked thebeginning of another roundof hard work and deliberatecommitment to the people.
He described power ashuge responsibility todischarge responsibilitiesthat will aid the peace,progress and developmentof the people.
“We are getting ready foranother round of hard workand commitment to thepeople. We see power as ahuge responsibility todischarge thatresponsibility effectively,”he stated.
On the rejection of theelection results by the PDP,
the governor expressedsurprise, saying if any partyshould condemn or decrythe process of the election,it should be the AllProgressives Congress, as a
result of the brutalisationand dehumanisation theirmembers suffered beforeand during the election.
The governor also usedthe programme to urgeMuslim faithful to allow thevirtue of a good Muslim tomanifest in their lives at alltimes.
By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI
Osun Gov’s Poll, A VictoryFor Democracy - Speaker
SPEAKER, State House of Assembly of Osun, HonourableNajeem Salaam, has described the Saturday, August 9,2014 governorship election in the state as a victory for
democracy and the people of the state.He said the principled stance
and doggedness of theelectorate, who credibly tooktheir destinies in their handswhen it mattered in the cloudof siege and unprovoked attackon their freedom can never beover-emphasised.
In a statement by his PressSecretary, Goke Butika, Salaamcongratulated the people of thestate for braving all odds to
freely elect Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, who throwshimself into the goodgovernance he was hired for.
Thumbing up for the resolveof Aregbesola to serve thepeople when it was convenientto give excuses for non-performance, he noted that hiselectoral victory was theappreciation of his passion tochange the world for better thanhe met it from the masses.
He then urged the governorto continue with his trend ofdevelopment and humanity,noting that whoever works forhumanity would never be letdown.
Salaam also appealed to theopposition to consider theelectioneering and its attendantbrickbat as history, asking themto join hands with thegovernment and provideconstructive engagement.
By KAZEEM MOHAMMED
Electorate Turnout FurtherStrengthened My PassionFor Democracy - Aregbesola
EVEN before he was announced as the winner of theSaturday gubernatorial election, the governor of theState of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, had sing-
praised the people of the state for trooping out in largenumber to cast their votes, describing them as pillars forthe sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy.
By ISMAEEL UTHMAN
Aregbesola stated thisjust as he condemned theclampdown on leaders ofthe All ProgressivesCongress (APC) at the latehour of Friday and early ofSaturday by some securityagents, who arrested,harassed, intimidated theAPC leaders.
Aregbesola, in aninterview with newsmenshortly after he had cast hisvote at Polling Unit 1, Ward8, Ifofin in Ilesa, Ilesa-EastLocal Government CouncilArea, stated that the turnoutof the electorate wasimpressive andcommendable.
The governor stated thatthe turnout of the electorate,despite the arrest,victimization, intimidationby some compromisedsecurity agents, has proventhat democracy is regainingstrength in the country.
He maintained that hispassion for democracy hasbeen further strengthenedby the Osun electorate, whotrooped out en-masse tocast their vote.
Aregbesola alsocommended the people fortheir peaceful conduct at thevarious polling units,saying that they had trulydemonstrated the Omoluabivirtues, saying “the
commitment of the people todemocratic process is quitecommendable.”
Reacting to the attack onAPC leaders, Aregbesolasaid: “The arrest of the APCleaders is barbaric andundemocratic. It shows thatsome people are hell-bent onfrustrating democraticprocess. Nothingwhatsoever calls for thearrest of anyone,particularly the leaders ofmy party.
“The authorities in Abujaare just using their power,which is not in accordancewith the law. It is anexecutive abuse of power.What they are doing is a civilcoup da’ta against me andthe people of the State ofOsun. And I am telling youthat the civil coup da’ta willfail because they cannotsubvert the people’s wish. Look at the electoratequeuing on the line to casttheir votes. They arecommitted to democraticprocess. They are energeticand passionate about theirchoice.”
Aregbesola maintainedthat no amount ofintimidation could deter thepeople from exercising theirrights and electing theirchoice.
4 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
A cross section of newsmen during the official announcement of the result of 2014 governorship election at INECheadquarters, Osogbo, last Sunday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
How Osogbo, Olorunda Delivered Osun For AregbesolaBy SHINA ABUBAKAR
WHILE voters in the State of Osun thronged streetsin major cities celebrating the victory of the AllProgressive Congress (APC) candidate in the
August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state, morefacts have emerged on ways voters in Osogbo FederalConstituency helped the party coast to victory.
It was observed atvarious polling units inOsogbo that voters wereconscious of the fact thatIle-Ife might want to embarkon block voting for the PDPcandidate, Senator IyiolaOmisore, hence, theirinsistence on ensuring thatmajority voted for theincumbent governor.
At most polling units inthe state capital, voterswere observed making callsto party members in Ile-Ifeand its environs, asking forthe trend of votes in thearea.
It would be recalled thatOsogbo Local GovernmentCouncil Area has thehighest number of voters inthe state followed by Ife-Central Local GovernmentCouncil Area and havingobserved the attitude of theIfe people a day before thepoll, Osogbo, Olorundavowed to use their votes toneutralise whateverhappened in Ifeland.
When the medium visitedOld Governor’s officepolling unit, a voter washeard saying the poll was abattle between the people ofIfeland and Osogbo, havingseen that Ife people hadresolved to vote for theirson irrespective of theachievement of theincumbent governor.
One of the strategiesdeployed by the PDP toconquer the determinationof the people and ensurethat they voted for Omisorewas the distribution of thesum of N5,000 per voter aday to the election and onelection day.
Also, part of the strategywas the early morningclampdown on communityleaders, APC chieftains,polling agents andidentified youths in APCstrong base in the state.
However, the strategiesworked against the party asthe youths and some elderlypeople saw the moneyoffered them as their shareof the national cake, whileothers simply rejected it andvoted for the candidate oftheir choice.
Particularly at Ward 8 ofOlorunda Local GovernmentCouncil Area around Orita-
Sabo area, two buses loadedwith Anti-riot policemen andsoldiers invaded the houseof a community leader, AlhajiKasali Owolabi (Kasmo) andwhisked away his children,as the man was not at home.
This singular act,according to the people ofthe area, gingered moreresidents in the area to troopout en mass to dischargetheir civic responsibility.
OSUN DEFENDERobserved in the federalconstituency that residentsin the area thronged thepolling units as early as7.00am waiting for thecommission ad hoc staffers,with a singular aim ofcountering whatever mighthappen in Ile-Ife and itsenvirons.
This was evident in theresult of some of the unitsin the state capital,particularly areas with largeregistered voters.
He polling unit atAjegunle area, returned 600ballots for the APC, whilethe PDP got only 6, whileOloyede polling unit atOlohunda Ward 8, returned59 ballot for PDP and 399 forAPC, also, Osogbo local
Government Council Areareturned a total of 39,948votes for APC and 12,398 forPDP against Ife-Central thatReturned 24,555 for PDPand 9,680 for APC.
Similarly, Olorunda LocalGovernment returned 26,496for APC and 7916 for PDPagainst Ife-South LocalGovernment that returned12, 811 for PDP and 7,324 forthe APC
PDP members in the statecapital were surprised withthe trend of voting evenbefore ballot counting
commenced, as many ofthem thought the moneythey distributed, as well asfood materials, would workmagic for them, but it onlygot them some votes belowtheir expectations.
It was gathered that thePDP members in the statewere initially happy with theresult the party polled in thefour council areas in Ifelanduntil they heard of theoutcome of the poll inOsogbo, Olorunda, Ilesa-West and Ilesa-East andattempted to resort to
violence but the heavypresence of securityoperatives preventedescalation of violence.
Meanwhile, Ilesa and Edewere agog with theannouncement of GovernorRauf Aregbesola as thewinner of the poll by theReturning Officer, ProfessorBamitale Omole of theObafemi AwolowoUniversity in the early hoursof Sunday.
People in Ikirun, Inisa,Ejigbo also took to thestreets rejoicing what they
described as reward forhardwork, believing thegovernor has done enoughto earn him a second term inoffice.
Similarly resident in thestate capital thronged majorroads in the state as earlyas 6am to show their joywith the emergence of thegovernor again, as manyconverged on NelsonMandela Freedom Park tomeet the governor, whoaddressed them beforeheading to the GovernmentHouse.
Omisore, Akinbade Accept DefeatBy ISMAEEL UTHMAN
GOVERNORSHIP candidates of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyiola Omisoreand the Labour Party, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade have
accepted their defeats in the Saturday governorship election,where Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola won in landslide.
Omisore in a press statementissued by his media aide, MrDiran Odeyemi, on Sunday saidthat he would not be deterredby the outcome of the electionbut move forward in life,saying “we would not bedeterred because of thedevelopment.”
He said: “What we lost isthe Osun State gubernatorialelection, we did not lose lives.We thank the Lord foreverything. In all situations, Iwill continue to give glory tothe Lord because the Lordknows better than us and Healone has answers to allquestions.
“Falling down is not new inpolitics, rising up is thestrength of a good leader. We
shall bounce back.Congratulations to the peopleof Osun State because we allwon.”
Omisore said he would
remain in the PDP, just as hehinted that he was stillreflecting on the outcome of theelection.
In his reaction, the LPcandidate, Akinbade, said hehad accepted the outcome ofthe Saturday’s election, just ashe congratulated the winner,Aregbesola on his victory at thepolls.
Speaking through his press
secretary, Mr Kayode Oladeji,Akinbade stated that he has noregret partaking in the electionas the flag bearer of the LP.
He commended the electionprocesses that eventuallyproduced the winner,describing it as fair enough.
Akinbade said: “By andlarge, the whole process wasfair and I congratulate thewinner, Governor Rauf
Aregbesola. In every contest,there must be a winner.However, I must let us knowthat my head remains unbowedbecause I don’t regret anything.Some lessons have been learntand I thank my supporters fortheir doggedness.
“Now that Aregbesola hasemerged, one can only advisethat he settles down for realbusiness of governance bydivorcing it from politics.”
Wild Jubilation In Osun Over Aregbesola’s Victory
THERE was wild jubilation across towns, cities andvillages of the State of Osun on Sunday, as thegovernor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was declared
winner of the August 9, 2014 governorship election.In Osogbo, Ikirun, Ila, Iwo,
Ede, Ikire, Gbongan, Ilesa,Ibokun, Ijebu-jesa, Esa-Oke,Odeomu, and other majortowns and villages, electoratewere seeing jubilating over theoutcome of the election.
Aregbesola, the All
Progressives Congress (APC)candidate, emerged winner ofthe election, having scored394,684 votes as against the292,747 of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)candidate, Senator IyiolaOmisore.
As at Saturday evening, theelectorate have startedjubilation, as they received theresults of the election, unit byunit and ward by ward.
However, the jubilationwent wild in the early morningof Sunday, when the result wasofficially announced by theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC), asresidents of the state took tothe streets with brooms intheir hands to celebrate thevictory.
Vehicular movement wastemporarily put at a standstillin Osogbo, Ikirun, Ede, Ilesaand Ile-Ife among others, asmotorists and Okada ridersalso abandoned their vehiclesand motorcycles and joined thejubilating crowd.
Shortly after the result wasannounced, the residents movedto the Government House,Oke-fia, Osogbo in thousandsto celebrate with Aregbesola,but considering the number ofthe poeple that stormed thearea, it was agreed among thecrowd that they should moveto the Freedom Park to awaitthe arrival of Aregbesola.
Few minutes after,Aregbesola moved out of hisofficial quarters at Oke-fia inhis open-roof white jeep and
passed through Alekuwodo/Ola-Iya/Old-Garage, where headdressed the enthusiasticcrowd of his supporters andsympathisers.
Addressing the crowd atFreedom Park, Aregbesoladescribed the result of theelection as victory for thepeople of the state, saying theoutcome of the election wouldhave a serious impact on thesustenance of Nigeria’sdemocracy.
Commending the people ofthe state for speaking with onevoice and defied attempts tointimidate them, he said thatthe Osun people have sentsignal to the world that theycan never be intimidated.
He promised that theconfidence reposed in him bythe people of the state wouldnever be betrayed, saying, hewould do whatever he could tocontinue to make livemeaningful to the people andmake Osun a reference pointall over the world.
Meanwhile, after thedeparture of the governor, thejubilating crowd stayed behindand were seeing, wining anddining with one another at thepark.
By KAZEEM MOHAMMED
Odo-Otin Council Chief Abducted, ReleasedBy MURTALA AGBOOLA
THE Deputy Executive Secretary of Odo-Otin LocalGovernment Area Council Area of the State of Osun,Alhaji Raimi Shittu, was abducted on the eve of the
state gubernatorial election at his country home in Iyekuin the council.
Some hoodlums paradingthemselves as securityofficials banged into hisfamily house and arrestedhim along with his brotherwithout producing anywarrant.
His son who demandedthe warrant for search wasthoroughly beaten.
The duo were howeverreleased after the election onSaturday.
The party leader in thecouncil area, Comrade PojuOlusola, also had unwantedguests around his house onFriday night, who shotsporadically into the air butcould not enter hispremises.
Meanwhile, election inthe council areacommenced early and wentpeacefully.
Accreditation began at
8.00am, while voting properstarted at 12:30pm in manyof the unit.
Polling booths weremanned by security agents,which included Policemenand members of the NigeriaSecurity Civil DefenceCorps (NSCDC), localobservers were also theground to assist in ensuringthat polling went on asscheduled.
However, voting in ward5 at Ekosin Grammar School,Ekosin did not commenceuntil close to 2.00pm.
It was observed that thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) stalwarts like Chief
Bisi Jinadu and AlhajiShuaib Oyedokun, theformer Deputy NationalChairman of the party, weregoing round polling boothsin Inisa during theaccreditation process,contrary to the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission’s (INEC)electoral guideline.
Aremo Kunle Alao, anerstwhile Commissioner forAgriculture in the state, wasalso spotted going roundthe polling booths in Inisa.
Our reporter visited thefour wards’ collation centresin Inisa and reported thateverything went onpeacefully.
5555
Clampdown On APC Leaders: Adeleke Accuses PDP,Presidency Of Sponsoring Attacks
OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
THE first Executive Governor of the State of Osun,Senator Isiaka Adeleke, has accused the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) of using security operatives
to intimidate and arrest leaders of All ProgressivesCongress (APC) on the eve and early hours of Staurdaygovernorship election in the state.
By ISMAEEL UTHMAN
There was a clampdownon the leaders of the AllProgressives Congress(APC) in the State of Osunat the early hours of theSaturday governorship
election by some securityagents and armed politicalthugs.
Some of the APC leadersthat were arrested, attackedor intimidated said the
security agents that carriedout the clampdown includedofficers of the Departmentof the State Security Service,the Police, the NigerianArmy and some politicalthugs.
Among the attacked andarrested APC chieftainswere: Senator IsiakaAdeleke, Senator BayoSalami, Attorney Generaland Commissioner forJustice in the state, Mr Wale
Afolabi, and Commissionerfor Agriculture, Mr WaleAdedoyin, ExecutiveSecretary of Osogbo LocalGovernment Council, MrIsiaka Faramade, amongothers.
Salami alleged onSaturday that gunmeninvaded his house locatedat the GovernmentReservation Area, Osogbo,with the aim of killing him,adding that he and his
family members narrowlyescaped death when thegunmen, invaded his houseat about10:05 pm on Friday.
Adeleke said he narrowlyescaped an assassinationattempt on the eve of theelection, when armedgunmen invaded his housein the midnight, stating thata team of masked securityoperatives stormed hishouse in a Toyota Hilux vanmarked Road Safety andordered the door be openedat exactly 1.00 am.
The former governor, whospoke with OSUNDEFENDER on Saturday atSagba Abogunde Ward, Edetown, where he cast hisvote, said that it took theintervention of availablesecurity personnel to foil theassassination plot.
Adeleke said: “At exactly1.00 am or thereabout, wenoticed some people, whowore masks and in policeuniform, military uniformand SSS uniform in a Hiluxvan marked Road Safety andanother van with no platenumber.
“They started banging onthe door. I saw one of theguys that was pointing fromthe van and I recognized himto be PDP Youth Leader.You know I was one of them.They were shouting, openthe door, open the door. Iinsisted we would not openthe door at 1.00 am becausethere was no way amagistrate would issue awarrant for you to come andexecute at 1.00 am.
“We resisted for about 30munities with hot exchange
of words as they wereshooting. I had to call all thesecurity people I knewbefore they eventually left.
”Between last night andthis morning, over 55members of our partymembers had been pickedup. Now, can we say that theprocess leading to thiselection was free, fair andcredible, when a sizeablenumber of our leaders havebeen disenfranchised,intimidated, harassed?
“The State Attorney-General was picked up, theCommissioner forAgriculture was picked up,Senator Bayo Salami waspicked up, Lai Muhammedwas picked up. Later, he wasreleased. What for?Nobody knows. Those thatwere arrested are still indetention camp somewhere.
“The Federal Governmentcannot claim to be ignorantof all these because thosethat were arrested called meand told me they weredetained at NYSC camp,where the soldiers werecamped. Some of them weretortured with their cloths leftin the water. Some are stillthere; they are yet to bereleased. I happened to belucky, some others are not.”
Narrating his own ordeal,the Executive Secretary ofOsogbo Local GovernmentCouncil, Mr IsiakaFaramade, said: “Wenoticed the presence ofvery armed men in thepremises of my house. Theystarted shooting into the airand shouting that weshould open the gate. Mydogs were barking heavilyand they were ready toattack intruders.
“The armed men woreblack clothes. They werevery agile. The tried to forceto their way in but they wereafraid of the dogs. Myneighbours have beenwoken up with thegunshots. While we wereexchanging words at the topof our voices, I alerted theonline media and the storybecame viral on the socialmedia and online newsmedium.
“Not quite some minutes,the officers of the SSP, thepolice led by the DPO of Oja-Oba Police State and othersecurity agents stormed myhouse, but the attackers hadleft before their arrival. Thearmed men were in my housefor close to 40 minutes.”
In Atakumosa West LocalGovernment Council Area,some APC leaders such asMr Kayode Ogunniyi,Samson Oriowo, IbukunOlaleye, Seun Olakolu,Bunmi Saseyi and SogoObembe, APC pollingagents in Ward 10 units1,2,3,4 and 5, as well as thosefor Ward 11 units 1, 2, 3 and4 in Atakumosa West werepicked up by securityagents apparently toprevent the party’srepresentation foraccreditation and forced tosit on the ground atgunpoint at St. Dominic.
Those Arresting APC Members Were HoodlumsAmong Securitymen – Akande By KEHINDE AYANYUNJI
THE former Interim National Chairman of AllProgressives Congress (APC), Chief AdebisiAkande, on Saturday, described the security agents
that were arresting leaders of APC on the eve of the election,as hoodlums, who were desperate to rig the gubernatorialelection.
Akande said this whilespeaking to OSUNDEFENDER in his hometown, Ila Orangun, onSaturday after hisaccreditation alongside hiswife at his Isedo Ward 1 inIla-Orangun.
The former governor saidthe security agentsdisplayed highest level ofimpunity that was notexpected from any securityagent funded by the taxpayers, adding that theiridentity was in doubt asauthentic security agents.
According to him: “I thinkit is the hooligans amongthe security agents thatwere arresting our partyleaders. Let us assume thatconstituted authority is notaware about it or how canyou justify arresting peopleon the eve of the election?Why did they arrest LaiMuhammed? Was itbecause of his big name orto intimidate his supporters?They were arrested andfreed. It was indeed arigging ploy.
“But what they failed toknow was that in Osun,which is part and origin ofYoruba people, we havebeen conducting elections
since 1952 and we are moreserious, when it comes toelection. We vote andensure that our electioncount unlike Bayelsa State,where the President camefrom, where they use towrite votes, here we voteand we don’t want anybodyto disturb us.”
He said heavy presence
of security agents is a factorthat is capable ofundermining Nigeria’sdemocracy and urged thepeople to be resolute andcome out to vote.
“Election is supposed tobe a lively exercise, wherepeople will be free of anyform of intimidation andallow to go about theirnormal businesses, but youcan see what is happeninghere, as if we are in warsituation”.
Also, the stateCommissioner for Health, Dr
(Mrs) Temitope Ilori,commended the people forcoming out enmass despitethe deployment of securityagents, adding that it was areflection of theconsciousness of thepeople.
In most of the pollingunits visited in Ila-Orangun,which included Isedo,Ejigbo and Iyoko, peopletrooped out and waitedpatiently for the exercise,while the security agentswere also maintaining lawand order.
A Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) agent in EjigboWard 4, Rasak KolawoleOlalekan, adjudged theprocess as free and fair andcommended theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC) for performing better.
However, in Otan-Ayegbaju, there was lowturn-out of voters and it waslearnt from a source thatsecurity intimidationsduring the eve of electionwas responsible for thevoters’ apathy.
Osun 2014: Massive Turnout Greets ExerciseBy FRANCIS EZEDIUNO
VOTERS reportedly trooped out immensely on Saturdaymorning to execute their civic rights of citizenship.
Several polling units inthe state, as early as 6.00am,ahead of the official time of8.00a, slated foraccreditation, were filledwith eligible voters beforethe commencement ofvoting activities.
OSUN DEFENDERgathered that althoughthere was light rainfall in theearly hours of Saturday, theturnout was impressive.
According to AlhajiBamidele Suleiman, a partyward collation agent,confirmed that more than100 voters had arrived atUnit 19 of Ward 5 in OsogboLocal Government Council
Area as early as 6.30am,while at Ward 001, AtaojaEstate, so many of thevoters said they were in theward early to doaccreditation in time to castvotes as quickly aspossible.
One of the voters at Unit16 of Osogbo, Mrs. TitilayoAmoo, said she led someother women to the unitearly enough to participatein the election.
Furthermore, a 76-year-old voter, who gave hisname as Mr. JolayemiGabriel, said he wasimpressed that elders likehimself were at the polling
unit early enough.Sulieman, however,
alleged that the oppositionparty, PDP, was providingcanopies for voters,pointing out that the movewas not in line with INECguidelines.
Responding to theallegation, Alhaji BashiruAjebade, the leader ofWard 5 Oke-Arungbocommunity in Osogbo,revealed that the canopieswere provided by membersof the community and notPDP.
He explained that thecanopies were to helpelderly voters take refuge, incase it rained.
A resident of the sameward, Mr. Kayode Odewale,however, expressedsatisfaction with the turnout
of INEC and securityofficials, and commendedvoters for coming out earlyto cast their votes.
It was reported thatamong the voters, who cameout early for accreditation,were elderly women andmen.
However, it was reportedthat at Ward 4, polling units19 and 20 at Old Governor’sO f f i c e , O s o g b o ,accreditation did not start ontime, despite the massiveturn-out of voters.
The Presiding Officer,who gave her name asOluwasheyin, apologised tovoters for the “slight delay’’,adding that theyexperienced little challengesin setting up somestructures, coupled with thedrizzling.
•A cross section of All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters jubilating after the official announcement of the Stateof Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the winner of 2014 governorship election in Osogbo, last Sunday.
6 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Osun and 2015: The game changerContinued from pg1
Overwhelming presenceThe overwhelming presence of security menin the state in the days ahead of the poll didnot impede the electorate from exercisingtheir will on who governs them. Thatindeed, is a reassuring sign for manyNigerians and the international communitythat the 2015 election could be a free andfair election.Indeed, ahead of the polls last weekend, theAPC and its flag bearer, Aregbesola, had inthe face of the strong presence of securitymen around the state betrayed clear signs ofunease. The APC’s national spokesman,Alhaji Lai Mohammed in statements paintedthe impression of the determination of thepresidency to rig the election in a cleardetermination to reshape the politicalconfiguration of the Southwest ahead of thedecisive 2015 election.Such panic caused the opposition party tosummon all its elected office holders andpolitical appointees from across the countryto show presence in Osun State from lastTuesday as a way of boosting the morale ofits supporters in that state.The PDP’s candidate was also lifted by thepresence of strong detachment of thesecurity forces whose presence helped tosuppress whatever advantages the incum-bency factor would have given toAregbesola.Omisore also had his friends from the Senateincluding Senators Enyininnya Abaribe,Ehigie Uzamere and some others to lift hisheart. But the most decisive factors were thevoters on ground who at the end of voting
on Saturday showed their preference for theincumbent.The outcome was, however, not a rout as theAregbesola camp had predicted it would bewithout rigging. That underscored the agitationamong some PDP loyalists who had sought foran alternative candidate. Omisore, a formerdeputy governor of Osun State had before thiselection been on the winning side of all thegubernatorial elections conducted in OsunState. He was deputy governor to Chief BisiAkande, strongly supported the immediatepast governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in2003 and 2007, but, however, came short indelivering himself into an office he had in thepast helped others to enter.Though a very lively man with soundeducation, the factors against Omisore weremostly fanned by perceptions about himarising from his trial for the murder of ChiefBola Ige, a former attorney general of thefederation. Omisore who was acquitted ofcomplicity in that murder, however, did littleto clear that perception. Besides, his politicalfoes helped to fan the negative perceptionabout him.Oyinlola, the immediate past governor of thestate who himself had a grudge against thePDP rubbed in the Ige wound on the peoplewhen he questioned why President Jonathanhad surrounded himself with all those who werequestioned over the murder of Ige.“The candidate of the PDP was arrested forkilling Ige. He was arrested and detained. “Thenational secretary of the [PDP], ProfessorWale Oladipo, was also detained in connectionwith the killing. The Minister of PoliceAffairs, Jelili Adesiyan, was also detained.“The chairman of the party in this state,
Ayobami Olaoluwa, was also arrested. So, why iseveryone who was in detention given appoint-ment or put in a position of authority? We needto ask the government,” Oyinlola said.Great minusLinking anyone or party with the death of Igewas a great minus especially given the adorationthat Ige continues to draw from most parts ofthe state. The election was also an opportunityfor political enemies in the Southwest to hit athim. Tinubu had by every indication mounted theplatform of political leadership of the Southwestwith the dominance of his party in five of the sixSouthwest states. After the loss of Ekiti, hispolitical empire was trimmed to four states andthe prospect of losing Osun, had in the last weeksof the campaign become an exciting lure forTinubu bashers in the region.Internal dissentIt was especially so, given that Aregbesola wasgenerally considered the closest of the APCgovernors to Tinubu.The internal dissent to Tinubu in the Southwestwas especially fanned by vestiges of Afenifere,the socio-political organization through whichTinubu, himself emerged as governor of LagosState in 1999. But the former governor’s allegedrole in splintering Afenifere after his emergenceas governor helped to create animosity thattoday irks many Yoruba leaders.Even though many Afenifere leaders did notcome out openly to antagonise Tinubu andAregbesola ahead of the election, some of themwere enthusiastically waiting to celebrate thedownfall of the APC in Osun.Celebrating the downfallAPC leaders who learnt from their laxity in Ekitiwere well prepared for Osun and went out of theway to woo known and unknown enemies. PDPon the other hand did not help its candidate with
the clear animosity towards rebels in the party.The treatment of Oyinlola and another formergovernor of the state, Senator Isiaka Adelekesubsequently proved to be one of the majorproblems for the PDP on Election Day.Though Oyinlola did not muster enough votesto win his booth, Adeleke’s grip on Ede, one ofthe largest towns in the state helped to firmlydeliver the town to the APC. After being luredinto the PDP gubernatorial contest, theformer governor was allegedly forced out bywhat he claimed to be impediments put on hisway. That was the beginning of his defectionto the APC, a move the PDP would now regretnot to have stopped.One APC source revealed that Adeleke was thecandidate the party feared most could troubleAregbesola. But even after he withdrew, thePDP hierarchy in the state failed to soothehim giving him room to defect. Tinubu, theAPC national leader and the many presidentialaspirants in the party would be very gleefulwith the outcome of the polls. Yesterday, asource said Tinubu was himself very bouncy ashe saw the result as a vindication against theaspiration of his internal foes in the South-west. For the presidential aspirants, theoutcome of the election gives hope that theirpermutations of forging a Southwest andNorthern alliance against the PDP remainsfeasible.For President Jonathan, the permutation mayhave been that whatever loss of support hemay have suffered in the North would begained in the Southwest. Now, it is back tobasics.By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor is
Ayegbaju Market: Creative Access To WealthI salute your effort in the area
of informationdissemination, most
especially, your honest andaccurate reportage of activities,events and programmesconcerning the giant strides ofOgbeni Aregbesola in the Stateof Osun. I remain one of yourmost regular readers. I foundout long ago that gettingcommitted to a task like youhave at hand could not havebeen possible without the spiritof courage and patriotism. Bythe grace of God, yourstrength, courage and intellectwill not diminish.
I have been observing withkeen interest for close to twoyears now; particularly whenOgbeni Aregbesola laid thefoundation stones of threeseparate markets withinOsogbo metropolis. Themarkets are the AyegbajuMarket, the Aje Market and theInternational Market atDagbolu. At that time ofinception, I was wonderinghow those gigantic projectscould be funded to completionstage, not to talk of how theycould solve the problem ofpoverty plaguing our society.To be direct, I felt that siting
markets around had nothing tocontribute to solving ourproblems.
Now, I know better. With therecent completion and officialcommissioning of the newAyegbaju International market,I begin to view the State ofOsun as a fulcrum of trade,commerce and industry. I beginto visualize Osogbo, the statecapital being restored to its oldplace of glory as the commercial
nerve-centre of the O’oduastates.
I watched the programme ofofficial commissioning of themarket live on television. WhenI saw the market womenraining prayers and encomiumson Ogbeni, his family, lifeendeavours and hisadministration, I came to aconclusion that those praisesand prayers are deserved. Thisis because he has removed the
veil of obscurity from many ofthem and brought them tolimelight.
Locating a market of thatstatus in Osogbo at a time likethis is like fulfilling an agendaof bringing Osogbo fully up tothe status of a state capital. Notonly that, Osogbo is fastbecoming a state capital with adifference in the entire nation.By extension, the State of Osunis beginning to find its foot as a
land of prosperity. In otherwords, by the time Ogbeni’sagenda for commerce, industryand cooperatives comes intofull swing, poverty andunemployment would havebeen completely banished, infulfillment of one of the tenetsof his Six-Point Integral ActionPlan.
I foresee Osun as a state thatoffers equal, brighteropportunities to all citizens.
OSUN DEFENDERPublisher – Moremi Publishing
House Ltd.
Managing Editor – Kola Olabisi(0803-392-7286)
Editor – Kayode Agbaje (0803-388-0205)
Lagos Editor – Kola Odepeju(08023191891)
Production Editor – Pet-Kola Taiwo Ibitowa
Senior Reporter – Sola JacobsSenior Reporter – Kazeem Mohammed
Magazine Editor – Niyi Olasinde
Reporter – Kehinde AyantunjiReporter – Francis Chukwuma
Computer Operator – Saheed AfolabiComputer Operator – Mary AkintolaAssistant Computer Operator – Lukman Oseni
OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing HouseLimited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust BankGTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun.All correspondence to the above mail address.ISSN: 0794-8050Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205Website: www.osundefender.com/index.phpe-mail: [email protected]
The traders displaced due toongoing transformationprojects in roads and urbanrenewal can now heave sighsof relief as they becomepermanently settled at decent,serene, dignifying and vantagemarket complexes. Petty anditinerant traders can nowbroaden the scope of theiroperation by accessing creditsat the new Osun Micro CreditScheme. Now they have state-of-the-art market places wherethey can daily display theirwares conspicuously withoutharassment or risks of autoaccidents. Young unemployedschool leavers can now safelyventure into various tradingenterprises. Above all,employment opportunities ofsorts are being created for thepeople of the state.
In sum, the State of Osun isset for the skies, its startinglimits, as regards growth anddevelopment. I call on allcitizens to rally round theincumbent administration so asto attain success in all its effortsat fully transforming the state.
2014 Governorship Election In Osogbo, State Of Osun, Last Saturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI And SHOLA ADERINTO.
•
•A long queue of voters at Tinumola area of Osogbo.
•Voters on queue at Olokada Poling Unit, Dada Estate area of Osogbo.
•Voters checking their names on the list at Ajegunle area of Osogbo.
•Another cross section of voters on the queue at Alekuwodo area of Osogbo.
PHOTOTALK
8 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 PHOTOTALKPeople In The State Of Osun Jubilating After INEC Declared Governor RaufAregbesola As The Winner Of 2014 Governorship Election On Sunday.
Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI And SHOLA ADERINTO.
•An aged woman who was celebrating the victory of Governor Aregbesolain Osogbo on Sunday.
•A cross section of Aregbesola’s supporters.
•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters jubilating at Estate area of Osogbo immediately after the election result that gave victory to Governor Aregbesola.
•
•Some of the Aregbesola supporters hanging on a billboard trying to catch a glimpse ofGovernor Aregbesola at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.
9 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014PHOTOTALKPeople In The State Of Osun Jubilating After INEC Declared Governor RaufAregbesola As The Winner Of 2014 Governorship Election On Sunday.
Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI And SHOLA ADERINTO.
•
•Ecstatic crowd of Aregbesola’s admirers trekking from Okefia to Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo to celebrate Aregbesola’s victory on Sunday.
•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters opposite PDP Secretariat, Osogbo, jubilating over Governor Rauf Aregbesola victory.
•
10 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Governor Rauf Aregbesola And His Family Voted At Ifofin, Ward 8, Unit 1 In Ilesa-East Local Government Council Area Of Osun Last Saturday.
•
•Wife of the Governor, State of Osun, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola, casting her vote at Ifofin ward 8 in Unit 1, Ilesa Local Government, State of Osun, during the Governorship Electionin the State on Saturday.
•One of Governor Aregbesola’s sons casting his vote at Ifofin ward 8, Unit 1 in Ilesa-East Local Government Council Area.
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, being accredited at Ifofin Ward 8, Unit 1 in Ilesa-East Local Government Council, State of Osun, during the governorshipelection on Saturday.
•Governor Rauf Aregbesola, casting his vote at Ifofin Ward 8 in Unit 1, Ilesa LocalGovernment Council Area, during the governorship Election in the State on Saturday
PHOTOTALK
11 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 News
How Voters Collected Omisore’s N5,000 Inducement But Voted APC
ELECTORATE in the State of Osun showedsense of commitment to the developmentalagenda of Governor Rauf Aregbesola on
Saturday, as they received N5,000 inducementfrom the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)leaders, but voted for All Progressives Congress(APC).
In some of the pollingunits in Olorunda, Osogbo,Ifelodun, Egbedore, EdeNorth and South among
others, some PDPleaders were reportedlymaking gestures to voterson the queue and
informing them theywould be given N5,000 ifthey could vote PDP.
It was learnt that someof the voters played alongand received the N5,000with the promise that theywould vote PDP.
When it was time tovote, some of those thathave received the moneyvoted the APC anddisplayed it to the people
before putting it in theballot boxes.
Some of the voters,who were not braveenough to display theirballot papers, was heardtelling some of theirrelatives that theycollected the money fromPDP, but voted APC.
However, at a point insome units, where voterswere being induced, some
APC members at the unitsnotified their leaders, whoconfronted the PDPmembers and put a stopto the act.
Meanwhile, plan by thePDP members to dumpalready thumb-printedballot papers into the ballotbox at ward 1, unit 3,BCGA area, OlorundaLocal GovernmentCouncil Area could not beexecuted, due to thevigilance of voters.
One of the drivers ofthe PDP State Chairmanhad led soldiers, mobilepolicemen and DSSofficials to the unit in twovehicles, but when he sawthe crowd of voters at thepolling unit, he quicklycalled one of the PDPmembers at the unit andtold him, “this place isrowdy, let us wait forpeople to vote and leavebefore we start theoperation”.
After waiting for about40 minutes anddiscovered that voters stillstayed around aftervoting, the securityoperatives were led out ofthe unit by the same Ola-Oluwa’s driver.
Besides, a member ofPDP, one Akeem,popularly called ‘Akeree’was reportedly arrestedby Nigeria Security andCivil Defence Corps forattempting to snatch ballotbox at Owode area,Olorunda LocalGovernment Area.
He had earlierattempted to dump ballotpapers in favour of thePDP into the box, butwhen he was caught, hewanted to run away withthe ballot box.
He was immediatelybombarded by vigilantvoters and handed over tothe civil defence officers,who whisked him away.
Osun AppreciatesResidents For Their Support
By SHINA ABUBAKAR
By KAZEEM MOHAMMED
STATE Government of Osun has commended the peopleof the state for showing their love and support for theOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola-led administration by
overwhelmingly renewing its mandate through their vote.A statement signed by
the State Commissioner forInformation and Strategy,Mr Sunday Akere,disclosed that theunflinching support of thepeople was the solid rockthat guaranteed it anotherfour years in office.
He acknowledged thedoggedness of the people inthe face of oppression,intimidation and poweraggrandizement by somepublic office holdersthrough the use of securityoperatives in the build up tothe August 9, 2014gubernatorial poll.
He commended the showof valour by the people ofthe state, particularly thestate capital, when the
personnel of Department ofState Security invaded thestate and shootingsporadically into the air,saying their courage helpedput the trigger-happysecurity men under check.
The commissioner alsolauded the maturity withwhich the people handledissues during the election,the support enjoyed fromthem by security operativesand INEC staffers andmaking the entire process asuccess.
Akere thenacknowledged theoverwhelming support thepeople of the state from allthe local governmentcouncil areas gave thegovernor, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, as he emergedvictorious at the poll, sayingthe governor would repaythe good by rededicatinghimself to serving thembetter.
He said the new four-yearmandate they gave to thegovernor would be a steptowards complementing onthe foundation of makingOsun great, OgbeniAregbesola has embarkedupon, saying the peoplewould never regret electinghim again.
He then called on theteeming populace tocontinue to live with oneanother peacefully, sayingthe period of politicking isover and every residentshould live in harmony andbe part of developing thestate and take it to greaterheight.
President Jonathan IgnoresOmisore’s Calls After Losing Osun
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan was reportedto have refused to pick the repeated calls ofPeoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship
candidate in the State of Osun, Iyiola Omisore,after the declaration of the Saturday’s governorshippoll.
The incumbentgovernor, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, who was theAll Progressives Congress(APC) candidate at theelection defeated Omisorewith 394,684 votes to292,747 votes, a widemargin of 101,937 votes.
Since his defeat,Omisore was reported tohave started calling MrPresident’s numbers, butthe calls were beingignored.
A source close to Ife-born politician revealedthat the president wasapparently angry withOmisore because of hispoor performance at theelection.
The source stated thathe had been reliablyinformed that despite theheavy presence of PDPleaders and FederalGovernment officials, thepresident was disappointedthat they failed at the pollwoefully.
According to him, thepresident said he invested
so much in Osun electionto secure victory for thePDP, with a view to givinghim edge in the 2015presidential election.
As at the time of filingthis report, it was gatheredthat the PDP camp in Osunand South-West in generalwas jittery, as the Minister
of Police Affairs, JeliliAdesiyan and Minister ofState for Defence, MusiliuObanikoro are afraid oflosing their seats.
They have startedrunning helter skelter toseek presidential mercy,for them to be able to retaintheir seats.
By KAZEEM MOHAMMED
Anambra APC Congratulates Aregbesola
ANAMBRA State chapter of the All ProgressiveCongress (APC) has congratulated the re-elected governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni
Rauf Aregbesola, for what the chapter called‘snatching victory from the jaws of anti-democraticthreats’
In a release in Oshogboon Sunday, shortly afterthe a declaration ofAregbesola and dulyelected by the State ofOsun returning officer forINEC, and Vice Chancellorof Obafemi AwolowoUniversity Prof BamitaleOmole, Anambra StatePublicity Secretary ofAPC, Arc Okelo Madukaifesaid ‘Aregbeesola’svictory is one which tookhim across seven rivers ofinjustice, seven mountainsof campaign of hatred andseven ravines of electoralperversion’.
The chapter urgedAregbesola to make hissecond tenure in officebetter than the first byconsolidating hid legaciesand further raising thehuman development indexof a people whosedemonstrable love, passionand commitment havewithstood the gun barrels and scaremongering toexpress their avowedconfidence in theirOmoluabi.
‘There is obviouslysomething to take awayfrom the State of Osun tothe rest of Nigeria,
particularly in elections yetto come, about how, thevoting populace can frame their view, nurtureit guard it and find courageto protect it against state-sponsored derailmentbefore mid-wifing same tosuccess.’ Madukaifedeclared , asking thevoters to prepare for more rivers to cross as thesacred mandate must beguarded until fullydelivered in a swearingceremony in Novemberthis year and supported tillthe expiration of the tenurein November 2018.
Anambra APC called onINEC to go ahead andprosecute all staffmembers and othermembers of the publicfound wanting in areas that
fall short of the law in thej u s t - c o n c l u d e dgubernatorial elections forforestall futureoccurrences, noting thatthere were obviouslymarginal improvementsform the conduct of theEkiti Gubernatorialelections which must besustained.
Here, however urgedINEC to prepare to workwith only Police, CivilDefence and the only sucharms of the securityservices trained to engagewith the public for futureelections, while insistingthat every human beinginvolved in the process offuture elections must beaccredited and tagged,irrespective of role.
•A cross section of All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters jubilating after the official announcement of the Stateof Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the winner of the 2014 governorship election at Estate area ofOsogbo, last Sunday.
OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 FEATURE 12
Osun 2014 Gubernatorial Election:
Aregbesola In Landslide Victory
THE Gubernatorial Elections which heldlast Saturday all over the State of Osunhas ended with a note of victory on
the part of the incumbent governor, OgbeniRauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his politicalparty, the All Progressives Congress (APC).The victory has put final rest to fears andapprehension nursed in some quarters thatthe election and its aftermath could spelldisasters of grave proportions for the stateand its people.
Declaring the results of the elections inthe wee hours of Sunday, the state returningofficer, who doubles as the Vice Chancellorof Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,Professor Bamitale Omole premised thedelay in the release of the results whichdragged all through the night on the longdistance which some collation officers andother election personnel had to travel toOsogbo, the state capital to turn in theresults they had.
In his declaration, the governorshipcandidate for the All Progressives Congress(APC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola polled amassive figure of three-hundred and ninety-four thousand, six-hundred and eighty-four(394,684) votes to defeat the leadingopposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, whosetotal number of votes was two-hundred andninety-two thousand, seven-hundred andforty-seven (292,747). The winning marginin the polls presented a clear difference ofone-hundred and one thousand, nine-hundred and thirty-seven (101,937).
In the breakdown of election results,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of the AllProgressives Congress (APC) polled arousing majority; making him the winner intwenty-two local governments. These localgovernments include Osogbo (39,983votes); Olorunda (26,551); Iwo (20,827);Ilesa East Local Government Council, thehome of the governor (16,106); and IlesaWest (15,427).
Others include Irewole (18,328); Ifelodun(17,447); Boripe (12,723) and others like,Oriade, Ifedayo, Ede North and South,Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West and ahost of others.
The winning areas of Senator Omisore ofthe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) includehis home local governments, Ife Central, IfeEast and Ife South; Isokan, Ife North,Boluwaduro, Odo-Otin, and Ayedire.
The Chief Returning Officer appreciatedGod and the people of the state for a hitch-free election; though some pockets ofhitches were reported in Ward 11 of BoripeLocal Government Council Area, Ward 5 ofIla local Government Council Area and oneother unit each in Atakunmosa East andEjigbo local governments, where petitionstrailing the polls reported electionsirregularities like over-voting whichnecessitated the results to be cancelled. Onthe whole, the Governorship election wasadjudged to be overwhelmingly successful.
Displaying the score sheets for theresults, the Chief Returning Officer,Professor Bamitale Omole showed thesecurely sealed forms EC 8D and EC8 E,which added credence to the credibility ofthe exercise.
In attendance at the results collation anddeclaration ceremony which held at theopen arena of the State of OsunHeadquarters of the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC), Gbongan /Ibadan Road, Osogbo were NationalSupervisor INEC, Ambassador M.A. Wali,National Commissioner INEC, EngineerNuru Yakubu and the Resident ElectoralCommissioner of Kogi State, who doublesas the Acting Resident ElectoralCommissioner of State of Osun, Mr.Olusegun Agbaje.
Others present at the event are directorsfrom INEC headquarters, Messers Oladimejiand Telma, H.O.D. Operations for the Stateof Osun INEC, Alhaji A.W.O. Azeez, residentelectoral commissioners for Ondo and Ekitistates, academic icons who doubled acollating officers party agents, securityoperatives and members of the press.
On hand to comment on the exercise werethe State of Osun Commissioner forInformation and Strategy, Mr. SundayAkere, the Director of Information andStrategy for the State of Osun Chapter ofthe All Progressives Congress (APC),Barrister Kunle Oyatomi and the StateChairman for the National Conscience Party(NCP), Honourable Waheed Lawal. In theirseparate comments, the trio lauded thecredibility of the entire exercise, though theynoted that lots need be improved in theconduct of elections in the nation.
It was however noticed that the agent
for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)absconded from signing the necessaryresults sheets, a development which wasconsidered in many quarters to be a sign ofdiscontent of the party against the results,even in spite of the prejudices it receivedfrom the Federal Government during thecontest that brought about the results.
Osogbo Polled Massively For Aregbesola
THE entire communities in Osogbo, theState of Osun capital city stood stilllast Saturday as the Gubernatorial
Elections were held all over the state. Earlieron Friday, the State Government had culledout a holiday to get voters adequatelyprepared for the exercise, especially ingetting to their various towns of registrationbefore the outset of the restriction ofmovement ultimatum, which lasted between6:00 p.m. on Friday and 6:00 p.m. onSaturday.
At various polling units visited by ourreporters, voters and election personnel hadbeen spotted on site as early as 7:00 a.m.The turn-out of voters in particular wasremarkably impressive as they were foundon queues, their Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs) in hand, ready for accreditation.
At the polling units lying between OkeOnitea and Old Garage axis of the city, theturnout was quite indicative that the outingof the day would bring great success forNigeria’s electoral process. At St. MichaelsPrimary School, Ago Wande / Oke Onitea,through BCGA area, people were found intheir large numbers, comporting themselvesin peaceful manner ahead of actual votingexercise.
From Old Garage through Olaiya Junctionto Ogo-Oluwa area, the streets were bereftof the usual hustle and bustle as traders,motorists and residents in their entirety tooktheir time out that day to stay at home toperform their statutory civic duty of voting.
At various strategic locations in the town,armed military officers and officers of othersecurity apparatus could be sightedmounting road blocks in order to provideadded security for the .election exercise.
Roads and streets were deserted, savefor few motor vehicles moving on electionduty. However, people were seen moving inoccasional droves, in attempt to locate theirvoting units. As at 8:00 a.m. it had becomecrystal clear that the security scam andapparent pressure intended to intimidate
voters and create apathy would not deterpeople from trooping out to vote theirleaders in the capacity of governor anddeputy governor.
At the Station road / Oja Oba / Ilesa Roadaxis of the state capital, the same trend ofencouraging turnout was recorded. At theAtaoja Palace / Central Mosque area, thepeople of that core area trooped outmassively. The trend was replicated alongOke Baale and Isale Osun where people weresighted in large numbers at their pollingunits, ready for their work of franchise.
The mood was quite encouraging at OmoWest; Ikirun / Offa Road up to Ota Efun andKobo N Gbodbo E area where people movedout massively to perform their civicobligations within the statutorily stipulatedtime frame.
At Testing Ground / Kola Balogun area,the stage was obviously set for a good dayof prospective move toward theconsolidation of sound democratic culture.In all the areas mentioned, politicians acrossvarious divides were seen moving fromhouse to house to mobilize voters to go outfor the all-important assignment.
The early morning drizzle was not adeterring factor. In spite of absence of meansof mobility, voters who had long distancesto transverse from their places of abode totheir voting units set out early enough. Theywere encouraged by the fact that they foundout that they were not alone in the trek.
At the various polling units, orderlyconduct prevailed all through the exercise.At United African Primary School, adjunctto former Fakunle Comprehensive College,Gbongan / Ibadan Road, two polling unitswere located; peace an orderly conductprevailed throughout the exercise.
Even though there were earlierspeculations of plans by the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) to use armed thugsdressed in military uniform to snatch ballotboxes and replace them with already stuffedones, the way things played out was entirelydifferent as voting went on smoothlythroughout the exercise.
At the end of the exercise, the results wereflawless at the two units, as voters were allengaged in the process of loud counting.Recording was done in the full glare of all,and this added to the credibility of the entireexercise. Voters eventually dispersed fullysatisfied as the results and their manner ofcounting were fair to all.
By NIYI OLASINDE
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola thanking the people at Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, on Sunday for their support and the mandate freedom given tohim despite the security agents’ siege to the state.
13 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014
OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 14
OLUSESI ISAAC writes that Nigeria’s National Conference’s proposal of additional 18 Statesis good, but not enough without the inclusion of Borgu State with New Bussa as capital.
Reason For A Borgu StateT
HE recommendation of the nation’s
National Conference for the creation
of the additional 18 new states cannot besaid to be exhaustive. And before the decisionreached by the conferees goes to the NationalAssembly or a referendum, creating a Borgu Statewith New Bussa as capital is not only justifiable,it is also expedient for its population, viability,history, cultural affinity, and contiguity.
Borgu State has been part of the behemoth ofrequests placed before the Committee onConstitution Review of the National Assemblybecause the social, cultural, political andeconomic fundaments that determined thecreation of states in Nigeria in 1976, 1987, 1991and 1996 also come to play in creating BorguState. With the massive consensus of the peopleof the area, it is only left for the NationalConference’s Committee on PoliticalRestructuring and Forms of Government torecommend the creation of Borgu State, havingthe existing large local government area to bejoined by the requisite number of localgovernment areas, contiguous with one anotherdrawn from the neighbouring South-south KebbiState, North-west, North-north Niger State, andNorth-west Kwara State. These states, Kebbi,Niger and Kwara States similar or near similarcultural and historical antecedent.
New Bussa as proposed capital extends overa vast area that approximates the territorialstretch of such modern day geo-political unitsas Kuwait, Swaziland and Lebanon. New Bussalies between latitude 90N and 110N, longitudes20E and 40N; it is bounded to the North byKebbi State, to the West by Benin Republic andto the East by the River Niger; and has a territorialspread extended to Illo and Kooje in Kebbi State,Kaima and Baruten areas of Kwara State andsituated in between the south fringes of theGuinea Savannah, Northern Guinea vegetationbelt and the Northern borders of the tropicalforest (Southern Guinea) region.
The bulk of the population of New Bussareside in Bussa, Guffanti Agwara, Wara,Babanna, Doro-Malale, Rofia, Luma, and Papyri,with the people having such basic socialinfrastructure and facilities as motorable roads,electricity, pipe-borne water supply, intra-citytransportation, signals of several radio andtelevision stations, networks of the globalsystem for mobile communication, ultra-modernair landing facilities at the Kanji N.A.F base,public primary and secondary schools,specialised tertiary institutions like the FederalCollege of Fresh Water Fisheries Technology,and government’s several basic health centres.
New Bussa has an impressive array ofnational and man-made tourist attractions thatinclude Zekanna and Kalli Hills located in Wawa
and credited with curative powers; Pissa caveserved as protective refuge during war situations;Old Bussa Ruins situated between Malale andNew Bussa; Kanji Lake National Park TouristCamps and National Park at Oli and Wawa thathouses wildlife; Wawa Maot in Wawa town fordefensive purposes; Kubeli Hilly Range havinglayers of feldspar, an excellent raw materials forthe manufacturing of glass and porcelain; KanjiLake and Dam generating electrical currentsnationally and sub-regionally; Shagunu Wildlife;Konkosso soil wonder in Babanna,NorthwestBorgu, characterised by differentcolours of soil which are scooped up intocalabashes and refined as face and body powder.
These tourist attraction are still being visitedtoday from across the globe. In the 19th century,
German explorers, Dr. Heinrich Barth,Machiavellian arch-monopolist George TubmanGoldie, Captain Anderson, Henry Kemble andother Europeans including Mungo Park (whodied in 1806 at Bussa rapids), Lt. HighClapperton, Richard Lander, John Lander, andLord Luggard (who later amalgamated Nigeria,all at different times had visited the touristscentres in the proposed Borgu State.
The construction of the massive Kanji Damcomplex in Nigeria in 1969 by the then Head ofState, General Yakubu Gowon (retd) opened thefloodgates of government presence, sanitationand housing facilities, banking services andinvestment opportunities and the creation ofBorgu local government out of the old nativesystem that over the years continue to improvethe economic, social and political lot of peopleof Borgu.
The political will of the Federal governmentthat favoured the Borgu in the past, will certainlynot today be a clog to the creation of BorguState. It will be roundly applauded if the finalshortlist of new states includes Borgu State asthe national conference resumes August 14. ABorgu State will solve the problem ofunderdevelopment of the constituents; meet thegrowth and development aspirations of thenationals and national residents in Borgu; removediscontent and tension; obliterate the aura ofdomination; and breed good neighbourliness.Nigeria as one single indivisible geo-politicalentity will be better for it.
•OLUSESI is Assistant Director, Directorateof Publicity, Research and Strategy, AllProgressives Congress, State of Osun.
•MARK •KUTIGI
FEATURE
CongratulationsThe People’s Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has been
re-elected to carry on for another term of four years.
Ogbeni Aregbesola recorded a resounding success in the just concluded election.
The election shows that the Governor is well embraced by all the people of the Stateof Virtuous.
In view of this, your popular grassroots tabloid, OSUN DEFENDER newspaper, isdoing a supplement to congratulate the People’s Governor.
Individuals, corporate bodies, institutions and well wishers can avail themselves withthe pocket-friendly advert rate of OSUN DEFENDER newspaper.
Advert RateFull Page Colour - N150,000
Full Page Black & White - N120,000
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- Management
15OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, August 12, 2014 PHOTOTALK
•A crowd at Mandela Freedom Park Osogbo on Sunday morning as Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the State of Osun, expressed his appreciation to the good people of Osunfor his re-election in the last Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Expressed His AppreciationTo The Good People Of Osun For His Re-election In Office At The Nelson MandelaFreedom Park, Osogbo On Sunday.
Democratic Victory OverThe Tyranny Of Power
Electoral Victory Speech By The Governor Of The StateOf Osun, His Excellency, Rauf Aregbesola
AFTER an unnecessarily tense, tortuous
and even traumatic process, theIndependent National Electoral
Commission this morning declared me as thewinner of the Osun state governorship electionon the platform of the All Progressive Congress(APC). On behalf of my party, we are delighted toclaim victory for our hard work, focus anddedication in this election. I thank the AlmightyGod for our triumph at the polls, against all odds.
To the good people of Osun State goes ourunflinching gratitude. We salute your steadfastness,courage, loyalty, commitment and fiercedetermination to defend your sovereign rights andthe integrity of our nascent democracy. You havedemonstrated in this election that in a democracy,power truly belongs to the people. I am humbledand honoured by your trust and abiding faith in meand my party.
I pledge that your confidence in us shall neverbe betrayed or taken for granted. Ordinarily, thisshould be a moment of joy and celebrationconsequent upon the hard earned triumph of thepeople’s will. However, this election shows thatdemocracy is still gravely endangered in Nigeria.We witnessed gross abuse of power and, of dueprocess before, during, and even after the actualvoting process. It is so sad and unfortunate thatwhat should be a normal, routine process wasmaliciously allowed to snowball in to a needlessvirtual war by the Federal Government and thePDP. Osun state was unduly militarized in anunprecedented manner through criminalintimidation and psychological assault on ourpeople.
This election witnessed an abuse of our securityagencies and amounted to a corruption of theirprofessional ethics and integrity. The securityagencies were unprofessionally utilized in Osunstate to harass, intimidate and oppress the peoplewhose taxes are used to pay their salaries andprovide their arms. Hundreds of leaders, supporters,sympathizers and agents of our party were arrestedand detained. Also, hundreds of other innocentcitizens including women and the aged wereharassed, brutalized and traumatized.
In spite of this condemnable repression andabuse of human rights, the unflagging spirit of our
people triumphed. Our victory is due to thesteadfastness and resolute determination of ourpeople to assert and defend their rights. The PDPobviously did all it could in a most desperatemanner to steal the people’s mandate. A criticalanalysis of the elections shows a trend of generallow voter turnout largely because of theatmosphere of deliberate tyranny and fear causedby the excessive militarization of the state.Despite our victory, it is pertinent to condemnand also point out the fact that the number ofaccredited voters in most local governments wasless than half of registered voters.
Against this trend, it is curious that the bulk ofthe PDP candidate’s votes came from only fourLocal Governments- namely Ife Central, Ife East,Ife North and Ife South. This suggests aninexplicable large turnout in his stronghold whichis a curious departure from the general trend ofvoting across the state. The outcome of thiselection, once again, shows the unswervingdetermination of our people to ensure thatdemocracy triumphs in Nigeria. We have sent astrong signal to all and sundry that no might ispowerful enough to thwart the will of the people.This should always strengthen our resolve to ensurethat as from now on, every vote must not only becounted but must count in this country.
Nobody or party must ever exercise powerunreasonably at any level except in accordancewith the will of the people to whom sovereigntybelongs. Let me assure the good people of Osunstate that I appreciate that this victory is a rewardfor our hard work and commitment to the welfareof our people. I promise that we shall not rest onour oars but shall be spurred to work even harderwith all well meaning people of the State of Osunand the generality of Nigerians to continue toenjoy your trust and support.
You can be assured that we will leave no stoneunturned in our continued effort to transform Osuninto a land of progress, prosperity and peace forall with renewed fervour. I realize that this victoryand the challenges we went through is a call togreater service and sustained commitment to ourpeople. I pledge a rededication of myself to theservice of our people and the strengthening ofdemocratic values in Osun and Nigeria generally.Our country remains in political bondage and wemust set her free.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014
www.osundefender.org THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA
By ADE OLUGBOTEMIWE need no furthertestimonials anymore after convincing
evidences have been tabledbefore jurists to either plead forexoneration for the guiltless, orfor the offender to besummarily hammered. It is truethat even the vilest offender willdesire to plead his way out ofcondemnation, but themeticulousness of an impartialJurist will not allow the guiltyto be exonerated; even if thethroat of the offender turns dry in an attemptto prove case out of perfidy.
I still do not understand why we meritthe kind of leadership that the people ofthis country have at the moment. If we aresinners, I believe we have Intercessors, andwith the people that are genuinely standingin the gap for us, our God is merciful enoughto avail us better options, and give uspeople with modicum of mere pity to be atthe helm of affairs. I don’t think the leftoption is for us to be stripped of our toga ofcompassion that we are known andcherished for; all because inordinateobstinacy has subtly crept into our ethosand usages.
Flagrant exhibition of heartlessness hasnever been as manifest in our creed andcharacter as is presently evident in ournational life. We are known to be ourbrothers’ keepers; with compassion waftingall around us. It is alien to have unbridledimpunity displayed so much that all otherpeople now see us as epidemically callous.No evidence is germane anymore when thePresident disdainfully disregarded scoresof lives that perished in the hands ofheartless miscreants at Nyanya Motor Park,the outskirt of the Federal Capital Territory.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathandisplayed the highest level of insensitivity,when less than forty eight hours afterNyanya incident, he consciously, albeitflagrantly, went on political jamboree toKano, dancing to the hurts of concernedindividuals, who were never at the scene ofthe ugly event, but mourned and groanedfor lives’ extermination that just took place.Mr President was physically there withsome of his kitchen cabinet members,appearing sober with melancholic andmournful look.
He feigned compassion when he put onhold the planned trip to Ibadan to felicitatewith the Olubadan of Ibadanland on theoccasion of his centenary birthday, only toappear at PDP’s political rally in Kanoraining abusive words on the state governor.He later appeared in Ibadan, where mereemotion initially prompted a restraint thatlater became a derelict, as if nothingcalamitous recently took place; when in facthundreds of Nigerian citizens are writhingwith pains in various hospitals all over theFederal capital.
There are some people in Nigeria that cansuccinctly be regarded as thoroughly bredand Gate-Keeper Democrats through theirantecedents. Such never had militarybackground that might have shrouded theirproclivity for full adherence to democraticnorms. Mention cannot be made of the firstten people in this category without duereference to President Jonathan; for havingoccupied almost all available politicaloffices in the land. They must haveunderstood that in democracy, it is notpossible that all voters will vote for oneamongst many contestants. Where acontestant is not known to any voters, oneof them will make mistake to inadvertentlyvote in his\her favour. The winner mustknow at the end that he\she has won for all.
It is now a known fact that most states ofthe federation are groaning under fundstarvation that the man at the centredeliberately employed to stifle opposition.Mr President has no justification for thisbecause our revenue has not dwindled. This
is not what obtains in developeddemocracy.
IN liberal democracy, where noconstituent unit is allowed to suffer inthe overall interest of the whole,
systemic collapse is considered grave; it isseen as a misnomer that should be grosslyrepudiated. This is at variance with whatwe have at the moment in Nigeria underPresident Goodluck Jonathan, where theparty at the centre seems poised to see thatall states being governed by oppositioncontinue in economic quagmire, as if theyare not part of Nigeria, to create wrongsignals that unless people in those stateschange their minds to vote-in PDP’scandidates, they cannot perceive the aromaof democratic dividends.
The President recently confirmedpeoples’ impression of him as beinginsensitive to aggregate of opinions, whenhe cancelled the weekly Federal ExecutiveCouncil meeting, for his cabinet membersto commiserate with Vice-President NamadiSambo over the loss of his junior brother ina motor accident. Nobody would have raisedany eyebrow if similar concern was exhibitedwhen scores of innocent lives wereexterminated in recent Nyanya bomb blast.Another blast in the same area in the nightof May Day was responded to with mereverbal condemnation, and the assurance tothose billed to attend an internationalconference in Abuja that there was no causefor alarm.
Recent appointments in which twoministerial nominees from the South Weststates were given the portfolios of theministries of Police affairs and Defence as
Minister and Minister of State respectivelyhave further accentuated people’sconsternation that the President is resolutein his attempt to recapture the states thatwere lost to opposition in the fast-approaching elections. The two recently-confirmed ministers have also not helpedmatters because the way they have reactedto issues in their respective states of Osunand Lagos left much to be desired. JeliliAdesiyan recently allegedly maltreated aformer governor of the State of Osun in ahotel in Osogbo, using his police orderlies;while Musiliu Obanikoro’s first officialassignment was to stop those working in aState’s Housing Estate in Lagos withsoldiers on the prowl.
The President should be happy thatsome governors somewhere, though inopposition, are working in tandem with hiswell-taunted transformation agenda. Heought to have developed a very large heartto make the states that are working somesort of reference models to those in his party(PDP) with the culture of cake-sharing thathas labelled us “Profligates who are notpoor”, (as the President has emphasizedseverally) but cannot provide for the basicneeds (as opposed to wants in Economics)of the populace. This is to tell us that themuch-orchestrated Transformation Agendais a fluke after all.
Recently, the Minister of Finance; andthe coordinating Minister of the economycame up to tell the whole nation that therecovered money from Late Head of State,General Sani Abacha has been spent todevelop the rural areas. Nigerians are yet toknow what exactly the money was used forin the rural areas that depict development.As a rural dweller, I am yet to feel any federal
impact that may justify the positionof our ‘Super-powerful Minister’. Theminister owes Nigerians explanationsas to the modality applied to pickselected areas, and in which states ofthe federation the areas are located.This is part of corruption perexcellence that has becomepermanent stain on our chequeredstatus in the comity of nations.
The recently-concluded WorldEconomic Forum has been said to haveinjected into our economy billions of dollars,the manifestation of such benefits maynever be felt by ordinary Nigerians becausewe only hear with our ears, and the more welook, the less we see. We are now in an erawhen money is chameleonic andoccasionally grows wings to fly to unknowndestinations. The World Bank expertise inour supervising minister has only availedus illogical explanation about issues thatappear comical on missing billions of foreigncurrencies that ought to have given oureconomy survival impetus.
We may appear boastful about ourdemocracy that has been in place for almostfifteen years now; the question we need toask ourselves is: what democratic valueshave we really imbibed? Not even the rulingPeoples Democratic Party can boast ofvaluable democratic tenets. The ruling PDPstill believes in rigging as a ‘legitimate’means of winning elections. They do notbelieve in the rule of law, and to them, theprinciple of separation of powers remains asham; yet, we say there is democracy inplace.
Recently, a PDP stalwart was arrestedwith voters’ cards that must have beencollected either from the owners for money,or our electoral umpire with financialinducement. Members of PDP in the Stateof Osun have ubiquitously become boastfulthat their flag bearer will defeat theincumbent governor in the August 9 poll. Itis now crystal clear that the confidence theyhave is in rigging mastery that will be aidedby that unscrupulous source that made itpossible for voters’ cards meant for manyvoters to get to a politician, to be usedagainst opponents illegally. Many Nigerianswill not be too surprised if the culprit is letoff the hook and the case is unheard of tilleternity comes.
There is no way a country can develop ifthe leadership is corrupt. Our owncorruption has reached the crescendo ofepidemic, and unless the present crop ofleaders in the ruling PDP are eased out ofpower, Nigeria may never have a modicumof progress and peace which can only beavailed by genuine and functionaldemocratic culture. It is only in big-for-nothing Nigeria that a non-performingcentral government will be audacious toboast that they will defeat a performing stategovernor, since the power to hire and fireelectoral umpire is vested in an autocraticPresident.
Given the current security challenges,which the ruling PDP has failed to tackle inthe past three years, the failed promises onpower, transportation, employmentgeneration, and economic meltdown thathas brought excruciating devastation, thereis no more justification for PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and PDP to either remainin power beyond 2015, or aspire to take overany of the states currently being governedby opposition. People have beenbombarded with numerous promises since1999 and all the promises have failed. Thereis nothing wrong in trying another politicalparty, so that Nigerians will be able to alsoassess the alternatives that are available inall the tiers of government, so as to knowwhether we have respite somewhere or weshould send all political gladiators packing.
OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. Allcorrespondence to the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 ([email protected]); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail:[email protected], [email protected]. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.
