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Tag: Iyiola Omisore

  • APC raises alarm over Omisore’s masked guard

    APC raises alarm over Omisore’s masked guard

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State yesterday accused the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Chief Iyiola Omisore, of encouraging the terror culture by going about with a masked guard.

    The APC said the objective is to intimidate the electorate.

    The APC Director of Publicity and Strategy in the state, Kunle Oyatomi said in a statement that Omisore and the masked armed man have been spotted at campaign rallies.

    The party said: “While President Jonathan fights armed and masked terrorists in the North with Nigerian soldiers, the reverse is being done in Osun by Jonathan’s man, hiding behind security cover to intimidate the electorate with masked and armed suspect terrorist guards.”

    It called for “a full scale investigation by the security agencies, if it was not privy to the exercise,” saying  “this potentially dangerous dimension of electioneering violence is a high risk factor that can derail democracy and threaten Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

    The APC also  alleged that the PDP has  “brought  in bales of fake police uniforms with substantial arms into the state with the intention to replicate the scenario of Ekiti and enact the bombing experience in Ile Ife, in several other cities of the state.”

    It deplored the impunity with which the PDP and Omisore are operating and said  that “as the August 9 election approaches, PDP’s desperation to win by force of arms rather than the votes of the people is manifesting ever so clearly. Political terrorism has arrived in Nigeria’s democratic space by the evil construct of the PDP.”

    It said the only theme of Omisore at his rallies is ‘arrangement has already been made to remove Aregbesola from office no matter whatever he is doing,’ without articulating a plan of governance for Osun.

    In a separate statement yesterday, Oyatomi warned the PDP, Omisore and others against “breaching the peace of the state to stop causing chaos in the guise of political campaigns.”

    It said the warning was necessitated by the rising wave of planned violent political attacks on the supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) across the state.

    The APC therefore cautioned “agents and promoters of conflicts and chaos to refrain from such acts or face the wrath of the law.”

    It drew attention to the political violence said to have been averted by the State Police Command in Obokun Local Government Area of the state on Friday in a fashion that followed similar attacks on the supporters of the APC at Ila-Oragun, Iwo, Ikirun, and the destruction of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s campaign billboards along Osogbo-Ilesha Road and Ibokun and Ile-Ife.

    It said: “Since PDP’s exit from power, however, peace returned to Osun. Our people have from 2010 embraced the peace and harmony that Aregbesola’s government heralded. It has been shown to the whole world that this state values, enjoys and promotes harmonious living among its various peoples.

    “This is one of the cardinal programmes of the APC government. Ours is not a government that fans the embers of disquiet, discord and chaos.”

     

  • Ekiti: let the people win

    Ekiti: let the people win

    For the Ekiti and Osun elections, no prize for guessing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) grand  strategy: Ayo Fayose would stage his adult delinquency stunts, Iyiola Omisore would scowl his sinister scowl and the petrified — and pacified — electorate would fall in line!

    It is bully tactics as perfect electoral recipe.

    A colluding presidency, pushing a failed president for second term, sure needs the destructive force of the twain, in its manifesto of fear and threat.

    It also fits perfectly into an historical pattern: whenever the South West is making progress, even amidst pan-Nigeria chaos, noxious forces, with their local office-seeking collaborators, would attempt a scuttle.

    It happened in the old West, shortly after independence.  It happened in the Second Republic.  Now, it is about to happen — in any case, the electoral invaders wish so — with President Goodluck Jonathan’s desperation to get a second term at all cost, using both Ekiti and Osun to establish some phoney toe hold in the West, despite a record of glaring presidential failure.

    The snag is: the first battle ground is Ekiti: happy graveyard of past all-muscle-no-brain federal vote fiddlers.  But the “invaders” are hardly fazed — for they have good, old “federal might” — illegal use of the police and other security agencies for partisan electoral ends.

    If you think this painted scenario is alarmist or even harsh, then you have not been closely following the Ekiti unfolding drama, in the run-up to the gubernatorial election of June 21.

    Flashback, June 8.  The local Mobile Police (Mopol) OC (officer-in-charge), one Gabriel Michael Selekenkere, reportedly threatened to “arrest” the governor, claiming “orders from above”.  His “orders”, specifically, was Vice President Namadi Sambo.  The VP was in town, the insolent policeman snapped.  So, the governor must dive for cover!

    But all of these are really not new.  Since Mopol junked its truncheon-and-shield for firearms, and assumed its notorious kill-and-go moniker under IGP Sunday Adewusi in President Shehu Shagari’s Second Republic (1979-1983), police pre-election rascality, in favour of federal electoral bullies, has become tales of the expected.  Even then, Selekenkere’s recklessness ploughed new depth in infamy.

    But there is also some satanic symbolism to it all, suggesting some inexplicable electoral death wish.  VP Sambo is the latest federal ogre.  But in 2009, it was VP Jonathan, then trying to earn stripes under Olusegun Obasanjo’s do-or-die electoral regime.  As Jonathan declared war on Ekiti then, Sambo is declaring war on Ekiti now.

    Still, between then and now, a lot has happened.  The 2007-2010 electoral conspiracy had come a-cropper, with Kayode Fayemi judicially regaining his stolen mandate.  Mr. Fayose, Ekiti’s enfant-terrible governor (2003-2006) had been thrown to and fro, out and in, and is now back gobbling his vomit as PDP candidate; and scowling face of unrepentant retardation in Ekiti.

    Olusegun Oni, principal actor in the 2007-2010 electoral judicial war, and dashing general of the fierce Ido-Osi re-run manoeuvre, has somewhat executed a Pauline conversion, back into the progressive camp.

    Not unlike Brutus who joined to kill Julius Caesar, not because he hated his imperious friend but because he loved Rome, many say Oni was part of that electoral steal not because he hated Fayemi, the winner, but because he loved Ekiti.  But saint or sinner, Mr. Oni is alive to the clear catastrophe of Fayose’s second coming, with its aridity of ideas, executive criminality and gubernatorial gangsterism.

    But alas, Opeyemi Bamidele, Labour Party (LP) candidate in Saturday’s election, appears headed in opposite direction as Mr. Oni.  The one heads for destruction; the other heads for redemption.

    Ripples’ frank opinion: the Bamidele defection is another manifestation of Nigerian progressives’ abject failure to manage prosperity, without falling upon themselves.  Mr. Bamidele was too rash.  Governor Fayemi and his court were too smug.  Things fell apart and the centre could not hold.

    Now, an election that ought to be a shoo-in, based on Dr. Fayemi’s demonstrable performance, is now the subject of some phoney speculation of “closeness”, because the proverbial wall has opened; and the treacherous lizard has entered.

    Still, on the electoral street, on both sides of the partisan divide, Mr. Bamidele is viewed much more emotively.  His LP is a PDP Trojan horse, a treacherous Jacob who voices progressive ideas but whose Esau arms are hairy and sooty with deeds of reaction and retrogress.

    If Mr. Bamidele fronts for LP and LP itself fronts for PDP (which just virtually yesterday ran Ekiti aground), even Mr. Bamidele and his new company would admit theirs is a treacherous enterprise which, given Mr. Fayose’s disastrous first coming and President Jonathan’s catastrophic current term, can only take Ekiti back to the Egypt it thought it had left forever.

    Of course, Mr. Bamidele’s foes in the Fayemi camp waste no time to trigger the Yoruba political cosmos of extreme saints and sinners, and put their former comrade-turned-antagonist pat in the hottest part of that sinners’ corner.

    Whatever happens, the notorious fact is that should the Ekiti election go awry, and the invading forces succeed to use the notorious “federal might” to rig the election, claiming a bogus victory but explaining the crime away with Mr. Bamidele, as a factor in splitting the All Progressives Conference (APC) vote, Mr. Bamidele would be installed on the throne of infamy which Mr. Oni just vacated.

    Still, the most annoying thing in all the electioneering hullabaloo is the PDP cynical posture that performance does not count; and that the electors are idiots.

    The president rode into town like some sheriff, his deputy bawling war, his police bullying everyone; implying such empty braggadocio is enough to sweep the polls.  But if Jonathan has ruled Nigeria the way Fayemi has ruled Ekiti, the country would not be in this mess.  Yet, there is so much hype about the partisan endorsement of a failed president.

    Mr. Fayose too blabs and roars.  But does he think the Ekitis would just forget four years of Fayemi’s systematic governance, and zombie-like, opt for the haphazard Fayose: his government by sub-human impulse and pedestrian thinking, which spectacularly undid them less than 10 years ago?

    From cynical water in 2003, Mr. Fayose has graduated to cynical rice and Okada bribes in 2014.  Some news sources, quoting Thai authorities, even claim the Fayose electoral rice is toxic.  If true, it becomes all the more interesting: Toxic candidate.  Toxic rice.  Toxic future!  It doesn’t get more diabolic!

    On Saturday, Prof. Atahiru Jega’s INEC has its job well cut out.  If it delivers free, fair and transparent election, the best candidate will win.  Ripples has no doubt that would be Governor Fayemi.

    But if it succumbs to the Anambra magic, and later turns round to rationalise brazen fraud, it would court untold trouble, given Ekitis’ past reactions to such shenanigan.  Federal electoral bullies, itching to use lawful force for lawless causes, had also better dust up their history books.

    Let the Ekiti people win on Saturday.  That is the only way to deepen democracy and ensure sustainable development.

  • I want to consolidate on good governance, says Aregbesola

    I want to consolidate on good governance, says Aregbesola

    •Ife stands still as governor kicks off campaign

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola was received by a crowd in Ile-Ife yesterday as he kicked-off his second term campaign.

    The Ile-Ife Technical College, venue of the campaign, was filled to capacity.

    For close to six hours, Ile-Ife, home town of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, stood still for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

    Aregbesola’s first port of call was the Enuwa palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

    Oba Sijuwade said election is not a do-or-die affair, but a civil exercise for the people to choose their leader(s).

    He said he met with politicians in the town and warned them against violence, adding: “As a royal father for all, I can only tell politicians to conduct themselves in an accepted manner and play according to the electoral rules. Election is a routine through which people elect those they want to rule them. Therefore, election is not synonymous to bloodshed. This is why I cautioned politicians to eschew violence before, during and after the election.”

    The monarch hailed Aregbesola for his achievements in all sectors.

    At the campaign ground, the governor urged the crowd to observe a minute silence to pray for the rescue of the kidnapped Chibok school girls.

    He reminded the crowd that his first term election campaign in March, 2007, also began in Ile-Ife on a Tuesday, which the Yoruba believe is a day of victory.

    Aregbesola said he seeks re-election to perfect the establishment of credible leadership in Osun.

    He said though electoral fraudsters stole his mandate in 2007, the shenanigans of 2007 would not happen again in the history of Osun politics.

    Aregbesola remembered 12 people who were killed “in their bid to prevent rigging” in their domain.

    Listing his administration’s achievements in Ife Federal Constituency, he said: “We have touched lives in all facets of human endeavour. We have constructed over 50.63km of intra-city roads, built six schools and several boreholes, distributed 1,473 pieces of Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) to high school pupils.

    “This is in addition to ensuring adequate security by providing equipment to security agencies, providing health care facilities and giving monthly stipends to vulnerable elders under the Agba Osun Scheme. All these we have done and are doing. We want a second term to consolidate on all these achievements as well as lay a solid foundation for credible governance.”

    Aregbesola sang various Juju and Fuji songs to drive home his points. He also sang a Christian song, which says “sweep away evil”.

    He thanked Ife people for their support and pledged to always protect their interests.

    Senators Jide Omoworare (Osun East) and Sola Adeyeye (Osun Central) said Omisore has no mental capacity to serve Osun.

    They said the job of administering a state is enormous, adding that Omisore is unprepared and lacks the know-how to do so.

    The lawmakers said: “The August 9 election is a referendum to elect Aregbesola for a second term. He is God sent to the people of Osun. In a single term of four years, this wonderful man transformed the state positively.

    “The truth of the matter is that Omisore has no mental capacity to govern this developing state. As a senator, Omisore cannot point to anything beneficial he has done for Ile-Ife, not to talk of Osun. What has he brought to his town and state from his much-touted mainstream politics?” Omoworare and Adeyeye urged the people to vote wisely and re-elect Aregbesola.

    At the event were the governor’s wife, Serifat; his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; and APC chieftains.

    There was a heavy presence of security agents at the rally.

    The event was peaceful.

  • Jonathan, Omisore meet at Villa

    Jonathan, Omisore meet at Villa

    President Goodluck Jonathan met yesterday with Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Omisore, dressed in light purple “agbada”, was driven to the Villa around 1pm in a Federal Government-owned black Toyota Land Cruiser.

    He was unaccompanied on the visit, which lasted for about 30 minutes.

    Omisore declined to speak with State House correspondents on issues discussed at the meeting.

    He simply said: “I am coming back, I am coming back”, before he was driven out of the Villa.

    The meeting may not be unconnected with the August 9 governorship election in Osun State.

  • Authenticate your claims, APC tells Omisore

    Authenticate your claims, APC tells Omisore

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has faulted claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, that he influenced the siting of the Airforce Safety School in Ipetu-Ijesha, the Navy Communications School in Ile-Ife and the Army Recruitment Centre in Esa-Oke.

    In a statement by its Publicity Director, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, APC said only former Chief of Defense Staff General Petirin, former Chairman of the House Committee on Defense Wole Oke and Erelu Olusola Obada could justifiably make such claims.

    It said they projects are Federal Government institutions, whose creation and location were decided by the security apparatus of the government before they were confirmed by the defense committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

    APC said: “What Omisore’s Appropriation Committee perhaps did was to approve the fund estimated for the projects, which were already done deals before they got to the appropriation committee.

    “It is blatant lie for Omisore to claim that he influenced the siting of these projects in Osun. What we challenged Omisore to do is to identify any ‘spectacular’ achievement in his Ile-Ife home town that was his idea or which he influenced.

    “The Navy Communications School was a naval idea and it was not under Omisore’s watch in the Senate. So the man lied when he said he influenced that school’s location in Ile-Ife. Omisore lied that he facilitated many infrastructural development in Ile-Ife. Why couldn’t he name them?

    “Anybody in Osun or anywhere else who continues to say without producing evidence that Aregbesola has led Osun State into N403 billion debt is a shameless liar and unworthy of being a governor. And that is what Omisore had been doing in the last one year.

    “The most ridiculous of Omisore’s lies is that Aregbesola has spent N3 billion on billboards and posters for a second term campaign. Again the man did not produce a shred of evidence to back his allegation.

    “Omisore needs education on what is going on in Osun. It will interest the PDP under Omisore’s leadership that up till this point, Aregbesola has no idea who is putting up those billboards across the state, neither has he engaged any group or individual to print or paste posters anywhere.

     

  • Omisore’s ranting on Osun REC

    SIR: It was Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propagandist-in-chief who made the infamous statement that “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it”.

    It is this same infamous path that Iyiola Omisore, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP) in the August 9, election, has been threading, with his repeated call for the removal of Ambassador Rufus Akeju, Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner.

    He has been making this inane call since 2012 and has heightened it since he emerged the flag bearer of his party. The allegation is actually a two-in-one. The first is that Akeju is biased because, according to Omisore, he had a relationship with APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The second is that a court had ordered the removal of Akeju, which INEC refused to carry out, thus retaining him in flagrant disregard for the court.

    The unsaid implication of this allegation is that Akeju is an APC mole in Osun ready to do the bidding of the party with INEC’s tacit approval.

    Omisore in his characteristic recklessness threatened solemnly at his party secretariat in Osogbo that he would never allow Akeju to conduct the coming governorship election. How he would stop the election is still not known. He might as well have it in mind to violently disrupt the election and I hope the security agencies have taken note of this threat to the election and should call him for questioning. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. He could also have meant that he would crash Abuja’s power on INEC to have Akeju thrown away from Osogbo. Whatever is in the dark recesses of his mind, he did not mean well.

    However, the truth of the matter is that there is no subsisting court order on Akeju. PDP had gone to court and obtained an injunction against INEC for the conduct of the 2011 elections. Strangely, the same PDP went back to court ask for ‘stay of execution’. The judge, Babs Kuewumi, was alarmed, and told them pointedly that normally, it is the defendant whom judgement was awarded against, that seeks ‘stay of execution’ and not the plaintiff who won the relief he sought from the court. He then granted PDP the ‘stay of execution’.

    It is therefore the height of mendacity for Omisore to turn around to allege that INEC is disobeying court order. I ask again, which order?

    When the PDP at the meeting of political parties with INEC chairman in Osogbo asked for the removal of Akeju, Prof Attahiru Jega told them that they should bring credible evidence of Akeju’s bias or any allegation they might have against him. They have not done this; instead, they have continued on this Goebbelian path of repeating a lie so often with the false hope that people will believe it.

    Interestingly, the defeated Osun PDP candidates in the 2011 elections did not challenge their defeats. Even Omisore who was roundly thrashed and humiliated by his opponent, Senator Babajide Omoworare, even in his ward, did not challenge the result at the tribunal or the regular courts. Only Honourable Wole Oke went to the tribunal and the appeal court and came back empty-handed.

    Osun PDP did not boycott the elections conducted by Akeju and no election conducted by him has been upturned by any election petition tribunal, appeal court or the Supreme Court. What then is the basis of the vilification of this man by Omisore and his gang? Is he looking for the fall guy for his inexorable defeat in the coming election, as always?

    • Femi Igbayilola,

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • APC alleges plan by Omisore, PDP to implicate members

    APC alleges plan by Omisore, PDP to implicate members

    Political office holders from Ife Federal Constituency of Osun State have alleged plans by the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, to plant guns in the homes, vehicles and properties of some All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders.

    At a press conference in Osogbo, the leader of the group, Senator Babajide Omoworare (Osun East District), alleged that the plan was to implicate them and get them detained before the August 9 poll.

    They accused Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro and Minister of Police Affairs Jelili Adesiyan of planning to cause mayhem in the Southwest ahead of the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.

    They alleged that the PDP and Omisore were planning to kit thugs, who they said are members of the Omisore Youth Support Forum (OYSF), in police uniforms and give them police/presidency official number plates, arms and ammunition.

    They alleged that the PDP was planning to use the thugs disguised as policemen to its advantage during the campaign and election.

    They also alleged that members of the Omisore Youth Support Forum had been mandated to kidnap APC members.

    The political office holders said: “The maturity of APC members should not be mistaken for cowardice, lethargy or timidity. We urge well meaning Nigerians to call all the characters to order and remind them of our indelible history that since the 19th Century, the Yoruba have strongly abhorred, resolutely resisted and staunchly repelled efforts to perpetrate injustice, rig elections, usurp power and enthrone unpopular governments within our geopolitical zone.

    “We assure Ife people that we will not relent in our efforts to sustain the current inestimable peace, political tranquility, infrastructural and unprecedented economic development, which is returning Ife land to its place of pride and prosperity.

    “We encourage indigenes and residents of Ife land alike to remain steadfast, watchful and unintimidated. We implore them to exercise their political rights, their constitutional obligations and civic responsibilities by coming out en-masse to vote, knowing that the volume of votes count a lot in policy and decision making.”

  • ‘Omisore’ll be defeated in his ward’

    ‘Omisore’ll be defeated in his ward’

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s target in the August 9 governorship election is not only to win, but also to defeat Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his ward, it was learnt yesterday.
    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research, Planning and Policy Implementation (Federal Matters) Prince Olusegun Bada said this in Abuja while speaking to The Nation.
    Omisore was, in 2011, defeated by Senator Jide Omoworare of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the senatorial poll.
    Bada said the only place Omisore won in the senatorial election was in his ward, adding: “We are not only looking forward to defeating him in the governorship election. That is an understatement. We are also looking forward to beating him in his constituency and ward.”
    He said Aregbesola had performed excellently and expressed confidence that the governor would be re-elected.
    Bada said: “Even people within the PDP know that their candidate cannot win. You cannot win when you are against the people. Winning an election is based on track record and the records of both candidates are there.
    “Aregbesola has tarred 10km roads in each local government area. He has not spent four years in office and has tarred over 600km of roads. And we are targeting 1,000km.
    “He has done backward and forward linkage with access to agricultural products. He has created an enabling environment for hospitality, and for small scale and manufacturing businesses to thrive. He has made Osun State peaceful for coexistence among various ethnic and religious groups.”

  • ‘Ekiti should vote wisely on June 21’

    ‘Ekiti should vote wisely on June 21’

    In this piece, Rotimi Opeoluwa enjoins the people of Ekiti State to vote for a candidate with an antecedent of service and record of honour and integrity during the governorship election scheduled for June 21.

    The speculation had been rife for some time that Abuja, nay the ruling People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), had long concluded plans to “capture” the Southwest at all cost, including the use of “janjaweed tactics” in 2015. Some say, it is fait accompli, given the re-emergence of Ayodele Fayose in Ekiti and Senator Iyiola Omisore in the State of Osun.

    Some newspapers say Fayose has “regained his groove”, but some commentators say it is not yet uhuru for him, citing Anambra and Ondo polls as examples. Those who hold this view say fayose’s emergence is diversionary, adding that the grand objective is to ensure that Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) of the Labour Party, who they say, has a presidential endorsement to sail through.

    Arguably, whatever anxieties some have about Fayose are not misplaced, given that he was governor between 2003 and 2006 when he be strode the state like an emperor. His rule was iron-fisted. He never tolerated dissent. For Fayose, it is either you are for him or against him. With him, there was no luxury of a middle ground. He outlawed it. He was simply a tornado, leaving in its trail wailings and gnashing of teeth.  During Fayose’s Administration, people were serially killed in broad daylight. Five protesting students from the College of Education Ikere were killed. It happened on March, 16, 2004. We recall the killing of Dr. Ayo Daramola. Tunde Omojola was brutally murdered in Ifaki-Ekiti.

    He simply went berserk. He bore his fangs everywhere. He and his ragtag supporters played god. Traditional rulers were routinely harassed and insulted. He savagely dealt with politicians, especially those who do not share his understanding of politics both within and beyond his party. To differ with him was to court trouble. The university community was not spared his venom. Inferiority complex drove him mad. He engineered the removal of Professor Akin Oyebode, a world acclaimed International Law expert, on flimsy grounds as Vice Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti. Oddity, which was his style, was elevated as an instrument of state policy. He relished brute force and ensured that intimidation of perceived opponents went unabated.

    The fiasco that characterised his reign between 2003 and 2006, before his impeachment leaves a sour taste in the mouth. “Paradise was lost” under his supervision and the tragedy is that he makes light these infractions. Some of his supporters chant that he has changed, but he is still visibly gabby. He exhibited that much in the build-up to the PDP primaries and has flaunted it as a virtue ever since.

    He is yet to come clean on why he was impeached on October 16, 2006 by 22 out of 24 members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly.

    He maintains that he has changed. I ask, “change from what to what”? It is a known fact that the leopard never changes his spot. Fayose represents a grave danger to the sanity and good neighbourliness, which currently pervades the state.

    Some say there is no indictment against him. True, what about justice denied? That Fayose walks free today does not obviate his conviction in the court of public opinion.

    With Fayose’s emergence, it happily gives room for a measure of comparism between him and the incumbent, John Kayode Fayemi. What a world of difference! The former was a huge deficit; the current, an asset. The current is studious and highly methodological, the former is lousy. JKF is a promise still at dawn. One dispenses violence as a currency of his political engagement; the other restored peace and amity. Fayose is incorrigible. JKF is civil, amenable, intellectually stimulating and very articulate. You can disagree with JKF, argue with him and still have your head unbowed. But the former governor does not have the temperament for good conduct. JKF explains, but the former governor is dismissive and rude. In JKF, it is safe to say here is a gentleman in whom there is no guile. That cannot be said of Fayose. He is a divisive character JKF is a unifier.

    Fayose is toxic style. Things have changed since he returned. The PDP secretariat was torched. Some JKF campaign banners across the state were shredded. Given Fayose’s style, it is right to assume that Armageddon is around the corner.

    Fayose is already sure of victory, but he must be reminded of how he lost woefully in his last electoral contest. The then Action Congress senatorial candidate, now Senator Babafemi Ojudu, trounced him silly. The polity is heated up not because of his oratory prowess, not for this promise to drive the state to higher ground but because of his notoriety and appetite for anarchy. This is no time for indifference. No, the moment calls for vigilance. The dog is poised to return to its vomit. Hs deficiencies will make him resort to untoward tactics. It is simply not his fault.

    We dare not ask about his dubious performance as governor, we are only told that he has “experience”. He trumpets that much too. Certainly, his experience includes impunity, looting and debasing our common heritage as highly ethical people. More of his experience includes masking his credibility challenge to the undiscerning. Can anybody say he has a demonstrable ability to govern, let alone inspire the confidence of Ekiti people? Remember his impeachment from office was greeted with spontaneous joy across the land.

    His re-appearance was greeted by a cocktail of violence. But, typical of the PDP, the family affair mechanism has been applied. Fayose has recommended some for ministerial slots and there is now the peace of the graveyard, since the PDP remains, “the chop-chop party”. Peace is a cherished commodity in Ekiti.  We beseech the enfant terrible to maintain some decorum in his delusional race to the government house. This appeal become imperative, given that only yesterday the governor’s convey was allegedly attacked by thugs that poured out of the Fayose Campaign Office.

    Democracy no doubt is intriguing. Imagine its puzzling twist and turns and how such a character well known for abnormality will seek the people’s mandate, yet again after dehumanising them. It is simply ironic. Good enough the electorate know both JKF and Fayose and have seen both in the saddle. In the coming election, Fayose shall be retired for the good and sanity of all.

     

    Opeyeoluwa, is a legislative aide to Senator Babafemi Ojudu and South West Co-ordinator for Young Patriots.

     

  • Osun APC celebrates too early

    Osun APC celebrates too early

    IF things were normal, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State should indeed be in celebratory mood considering the odious election of Senator Iyiola Omisore as the governorship candidate of the PDP for the August governorship poll. According to the party’s publicity and media director, Kunle Oyatomi, the APC believes that given the widely held view that Senator Omisore is hated for his rough tactics in elections, as well as the burden of allegations he bears over former Minister of Justice Bola Ige’s assassination, his rejection in the poll would be a formality. But it is precisely Mr Omisore’s negative image that makes him dangerous and unscrupulous. He will not consider any tactics too low or contemptible to embrace. Osun APC should in fact be worried rather than celebrating.