Encomium
‘I will soon be declared the original winner’
‘You’re only being childish’ – APC
THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer in the Saturday, August 9, 2014 governorship elections in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore has said he will soon reclaim his stolen mandate from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He reportedly made this known in Osogbo, the capital of the state on Thursday, August 28, 2014, after submitting his petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for declaring the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola winner of the keenly contested poll.
The Ife-born engineer turned politician, who was said to have insisted that he was robbed of victory by INEC allegedly said, “With the submission of this petition, I would soon be declared the original winner of the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun, with lawful votes cast by the people of this state, unlike the rigged and manipulated figures released by the INEC, which declared the candidate of APC the winner.”
Omisore also alleged conspiracy between the INEC and Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) cadets to perpetrating the rigging of the election in favour of Aregbesola.
He was quoted as saying, “There was huge connivance between the INEC and OYES cadets, who they used as presiding officers and some policemen who were bribed and bought over to chase our agents out of polling units and centres. This development indicated that there was no transparency, fairness in the conduct of the poll in some identified areas in the state.”
However, Omisore has finally filed and submitted an 815-page petition to the Elections Petition Tribunal, challenging the outcome of the Saturday, August 9, 2014 guber polls. This, we were told by a reliable source, was received by the secretary to the tribunal, Mohammed Alli, and very soon, the case will be looked into.
“Omisore has submitted his petition against INEC and APC to the Elections Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, challenging his defeat in the August 9, 2014 governorship elections. I learnt he, alongside other PDP chieftains, including the party’s chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, visited the office of the tribunal in Osogbo on Thursday, August 28, 2014, and submitted the petition. Although, I don’t think anything positive can come out of it. It’s like Omisore is just wasting his time and resources, fighting the already lost battle.”
Corroborating Omisore’s submission, however, a PDP chieftain, Mr. Odeyale told ENCOMIUM Weekly on Saturday, August 30, 2014, that the party was not satisfied with the outcome of Saturday, August 9, 2014 election; hence the decision to head for the tribunal.
“It’s not only Omisore that was not satisfied with the result of the elections. All of us in the PDP, Osun State chapter are also not satisfied. We’re sure that Aregbesola and the INEC conspired to rig out our candidate. But because we’re law abiding and peace loving people, we need not to resort to violent action. That exactly informed the decision to contest the result the legal way. We believe victory is sure at the tribunal.”
On Monday, September 1, 2014, ENCOMIUM Weekly’s efforts to seek the reaction of Aregbesola to the allegation leveled against him by the PDP, via his media person, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon couldn’t yield the desired result as all the calls we put through his mobile phone were ignored. We also sent him a text, all to no avail.
However, an APC chieftain, Mr. Wole Adegbenjo told ENCOMIUM Weekly that Omisore’s action is just like medicine after death as the result can’t be reverted at the tribunal on account of the fact that the election was free, fair and credible.
“It’s just a wishful thinking that Omisore is going about telling people that he will be declared the winner of the Saturday, August 9, 2014 governorship elections in Osun State. Let him submit 1,000 pages of application, if he likes, he has no stolen mandate to reclaim from Aregbesola. He should look for his stolen mandate elsewhere. He is just wasting his time and resources. I think he was deluded. But anyway, I can’t blame him much. He is being rattled like a beheaded snake. But to me, he is only being childish by claiming he was rigged out and will soon be declared by the tribunal as the authentic winner of the gubernatorial elections.
“He alleged we rigged the election in conjunction with the INEC. He even mentioned the police in his allegation. He was the one that wanted to rig the election, banking on the fact that he was enjoying federal might and support but he failed woefully. I think everybody can now see reason he was desperate in winning the election. His plan to rig the election was foiled not by Aregbesola or APC but by the good people of Osun State who will not want a thug to rule them. So, he should go and hide his head somewhere and be planning ahead of 2019. Even, I don’t think he can ever become the governor of the state, based on his political antecedent.”
– TADE ASIFAT
