Osun: Oyetola confident to return as Adeleke takes over

Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola has expressed optimism that the administration headed by Ademola Adeleke will be short-lived as he returns to the seat of power of the state. 'State through legal proceedings.

Adeleke, who is the governor-elect, would be inaugurated on Sunday (today) at the Osogbo City Stadium. Adeleke is a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Those expected at the inauguration include PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, the party's national chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and about 10 PDP governors.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner of the Osun gubernatorial election on June 17, 2022.

The Returning Officer for the Election and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced that Adeleke had won a total of 403,371 votes by beating the incumbent, Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, who received 375,027 votes in a hotly contested race.

"I declare Adeleke Ademola Jackson Nurudeen, on behalf of the President of INEC, PDP, having satisfied the requirement of law, is hereby declared the winner and is re-elected", did he declare. .

The PDP won 17 of the state's 30 local government areas, while the APC won the other 13. PDP won in Ede North, Ede South, Ifelodun, Boluwaduro, Egbedore, Odo Otin, Osogbo, Ila, Atakumosa West, Olorunda, Ilesa West, Obokun, Oriade, Orolu, Ife North, Irepodun and Ejigbo.

APC, on the other hand, won in the LGAs of Boripe, Ilesa East, Ayedire, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Ayedaade, Iwo, Olaoluwa, Isokan, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Ife South and Ife East.

But in his handover note seen by our correspondents on Sunday, the outgoing governor maintained that he was only stepping aside to let the law take its course.

He said: "As I step down today after the end of the four-year term that you have freely granted me, I thank God and thank you for your support, your cooperation and your prayers over the years.

"I remember how the journey began four years ago; how by your faith in me and your belief in the plans and programs of our Party, you exercised your right to vote for me .

"Motivated by the promise of God, my belief, we have promised to serve you with steady hearts and hands. We have promised to be operational once we take office. We have given our word that we would put you first and lead a people-centered government.

"As we draw the curtain on this first term, We are confident that we have neither reneged on our promises nor disappointed you. We kept faith in you and stayed true to our election promises. We wanted to continue to serve you, but we are constrained by the outcome of the July 16 gubernatorial election, which we are already challenging in court.

“As law-abiding citizens and government, we step aside to allow the law to take its course.

“However, we look forward to continuing to serve you in the near future. We have absolute confidence in God that we will return to soon, as we have implicit confidence in the judiciary to deliver justice in the case before it.

“We are confident that this period of temporary political eclipse will pass. The sun will shine again, brighter and warmer, and the sustainable development and participatory governance that we have enthroned, which have been applauded by local and international organizations, will be restored and strengthened.

“There is no substitute for people-centred and development-oriented governance in a democracy. The roots of the unprecedented good governance, inclusive and participatory governance we introduced, which resulted in massive equitable projects and programs, are too strong to be uprooted.

"My dear people of Osun, I can't thank you enough for not only supporting us throughout our tenure, but also for supporting us even after the July 16 election results. . Your goodwill encouraged us to pursue all our projects until the last day."