Imbroglio In PDP, Ede: Fresh Tussle Looms Over Adeleke’s Ambition

By Kehinde Ayantunji

Indications have emerged that the interest of the Adeleke’s family to put Senator Ademola Adeleke, representing Osun West Senatorial District forward in the governorship race might pitch the politicians of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) extraction who are indigenes of Edeland against themselves and on the long run create a fresh bad blood within the PDP.

A source within the town said that the interest of Adeleke has started clashing with that of the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Honourable Adejare Bello,  as the supporters of the latter believed that it was a display of greediness to put the senator forward again for the governorship race.

One of the supporters of Bello who pleaded anonymity told OSUN DEFENDER that though, Adeleke’s family has impacted positively on Edeland, but what they had got in return were far more than what they had offered, saying, “Is it the Adeleke’s family alone that we have in Ede”.

“For instance, the father of the present Adeleke’s was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke was a governor in this state and he later came back to become a senator for two terms.

“After the demise of Senator Isiaka Adeleke, his younger brother, Senator Ademola Adeleke took over and nobody quarrel with that because his election served as compensation to the family for the death of the late senator.

“While we are not denying the fact that the family has done so well and that the senator has the constitutional right to contest, it must be noted that not only Adeleke family has done well for Edeland, there are individuals like Adejare Bello and so many others, as well as groups who have done the same.

“When Ademola Adeleke was contesting for the seat he currently occupies, Bello and many other prominent individuals of Ede supported him, and it will now be high level of greediness to see that the senator is coming up with another ambition”, the source stressed.

Meanwhile, it would be recalled that it was recently alleged that the state PDP Chairman, Honourable Soji Adagunodo has endorsed the candidature of Adeleke for the governorship race, and the state chairman has subsequently denied the allegation, saying, all the aspirants would be given a level playing ground at the primaries.

But inspite the denial of the party chairman, loyalists of some of the aspirants have insisted that the party chairman’s body language shows that he is still rooting for Adeleke, as the Adeleke family is seeing to have the financial capacity to prosecute the election.

It was gathered that it was based on the assurance of the chairman and the handwriting on the wall that prompted the defection of a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Fatai Diekola’s defection to the PDP.