Governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the August 15 governorship election in Osun State and incumbent Governor of the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke, may have serious hurdles to cross ahead of the polls.
The same is the situation with the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, as so many factors, especially within the party, are against him.
For Adeleke, the main issue he has to contend with is the litigation instituted by a faction of the Accord Party, which presents Mr Clement Kolawole Bamigbola as its gubernatorial candidate.
Recall that a faction of the Accord Party in the state is challenging the candidature of Adeleke as the governorship candidate of the party, claiming that Clement Bamigbola is the right choice of the party, having emerged through a process endorsed by the factional leadership of the party.
Already, a case instituted by the Accord Party faction and its gubernatorial candidate, Bamigbola, is before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo and the court is expected to adjudicate the matter soon.
Also, the posters of Bamigbola have flooded many parts of the state, with the inscription that presents him (Bamigbola) as the gubernatorial candidate of the Accord Party.
This medium can authoritatively report that the posters of Bamigbola now flood areas like Oke Baale, Ibokun road and other parts of Osogbo, the state capital.
At the entrance of the main campus of the Osun State University in Osogbo, the posters of Bamigbola were seen conspicuously pasted, even as some of the posters were seen on the fence of the university campus in Osogbo.
In the posters pasted in many parts of Osogbo, the picture of Clement Bamigbola was inscribed on them, and he (Bamigbola) was presented as the gubernatorial candidate of the Accord Party.
However, the state chapter of the party under the leadership of Pastor Victor Akande discountenance the development, claiming that Governor Adeleke remains the sole candidate of the party for the August 15 gorvernorship election in the state.
Akande claimed that Bamigbola is not known to the party and did not emerge as the gorvernorship candidate of the party.
But Bamigbola claimed that he was duly endorsed by the leadership of the party and chastised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for recognising Adeleke as the party’s gorvernorship candidate despite the case before the Osogbo division of the Federal High Court.
He faulted the inclusion of Governor Adeleke’s name on the list of governorship candidates recently released by INEC, informing that the development is currently being challenged in court.
Also, the issue surrounding the recently released audit report by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited, an audit firm engaged by the state government to audit the state workforce, is a big hurdle for Governor Adeleke to cross, as allegations of financial infraction levelled against the government by the audit firm were weighty and they are generating controversies in the state.
Sally Tibbot Consulting firm was contracted by the Osun State Government in April 2023 to verify and validate the state’s payroll system, covering civil servants, local government workers, educators, state-owned institutions and pensioners.
The audit revealed 8,452 ghost workers, resulting in an alleged annual payroll fraud of N13.7 billion, a claim the state government, however, refuted and reportedly called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to wade into it.
It was gathered that the state government had contacted ICPC to investigate the matter, as dust is being raised in the state over the matter.
The opposition political parties, especially the APC, are also using the audit report to condemn the government of Adeleke.
For the governorship candidate of the APC, Mr Bola Oyebamiji, he currently faces serious hurdles within his political party as a faction loyal to the former Deputy Governor of the state and a gubernatorial aspirant of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has continued to distance itself from all the activities of Oyebamiji and those of the party.
Although the leaders of the party under the auspices of APC Elders Caucus, otherwise known as Igbimo Agba, had visited Omisore and pleaded with him to support the governorship candidate, Omisore and his loyalists have not yielded.
Recently, the former Governor of the state and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, together with Oyebamiji, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
Political observers believe that issues surrounding the forthcoming governorship election in the state was the focus of their discussion during the meeting.
But the decision of Omisore to boycott party activities and also shun Oyebamiji is giving concern to many loyalists of the party, as this may affect the chances of the party, considering the fact that Omisore has a good number of supporters spread across the state.
Also, the choice of the deputy governorship candidate may be a serious hurdle for Oyebamiji, as it was reported that the party is yet to settle on the choice of Oyebamiji ‘s running mate.
Although the name of the former Chief Whip of the state House of Assembly, Hon Tunde Olatunji, was released by INEC as the preliminary APC deputy governorship candidate, it was rumoured that Olatunji may not emerge as the deputy governorship candidate as he’s not the choice of the leaders of the party.
Unless something urgent is done, the pharmacist has a strong battle to fight on the choice of the deputy governorship candidate as many interests are springing up almost on a daily basis within the leadership of the party as regards who will be the running mate to Oyebamiji.
