Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State on Tuesday urged the people of the state against voting for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
Oyinlola, who publicly declared for the All Progressives Congress at the mega rally of the party held at the Osogbo Township Stadium, on Tuesday, accused Omisore of being selfish.
Clad in complete All Progressives Congress (APC) customised agbada, the former governor said there was no project the ruling party at the federal level has executed in Osun to deserve the people’s vote.
While formally leaving his former party to join the APC alongside his numerous supporters, the former PDP national secretary also threw jibes at President Goodluck Jonathan for marginalising the Southwest in the sharing of plum political offices after the zone had helped him win the presidency in 2011.
In a speech brimming with anecdotes, Oyinlola, an Okuku prince, swore with sanctity of the royal crown to further authenticate his claims, as he tasked would-be voters to cast their votes wisely.
“Is there any Yoruba among those currently holding the highest offices of the Federal Government?” he asked, adding that the office of the chief of staff to the President is the highest occupied by a South-westerner.
Oyinlola recalled that his travails with the PDP and Jonathan began when, in 2011, he was invited by President who then indicated interest to run in 2011.
He said he told President Jonathan that the right person to approach was former President Olusegun Obasanjo, adding that both leaders later agreed, worked together and achieved victory. However, after the election, Oyinlola said, Jonathan started baring his fangs, maltreating the former president. The Ogun State PDP executive was unilaterally dissolved and the party’s structure in the Southwest was disrupted.
He alleged that the President desecrated the constitution of the PDP, having now built the party in his own image.
After tracing how the Presidency has rewarded the zone’s goodness with ingratitude by systematically sidelining the Southwest in the scheme of things, Oyinlola, amidst rousing applause from the mammoth crowd that graced the rally, also spoke about character flaws of Omisore, who is the main challenger to APC’s Governor Rauf Aregbesola, saying people of shady antecedents should not be entrusted with the leadership of the state.
Linking the self-conceited nature of Omisore to the defection of key PDP stalwarts, the retired soldier made a veiled reference to the killing of Bola Ige, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, describing as unfortunate, the recruiting by the Federal Government, all the people allegedly connected with the murder of the former chief law officer of the country into leadership positions.
“In Osun State, the PDP can’t be voted for because its governorship candidate is selfish. He only thinks of himself alone. He ensured Prof. Wale Oladipo, his kinsmen, became the PDP national secretary, Jelili Adesiyan as Police Affairs Minister, Gani Ola-Oluwa, as the party’s state chairman and working Senate for Kunle Alao. All these people were in prison custody with him. For his selfishness, Isiaka Adeleke, Fatai Adeleke, and now myself left the PDP,” Oyinlola said.
He enjoined the people to vote for Aregbesola because of his sterling performance and his passion to do a lot more for the people.
The former governor praised Aregbesola’s intervention in education, especially the policy that seeks to decentralise the state-owned Osun State University, saying this would further cement the spirit of togetherness in the state.
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