Osun guber race: ‘We ‘re committed to winning, says Adeleke

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, on Saturday said he is committed to rescuing the state from what he described as ‘bad governance’.

The former lawmaker stated this in a statement by the spokesman for his campaign organisation, Rasheed Olawale.

“My ambition to govern Osun state is people-driven,” said Adeleke. “We are not afraid to face the delegates at the primary and the people of Osun State at the general election.

“I urge my colleagues to take the contest like a sporting race”, the statement said.

While reacting to the report of the PDP Appeal Screening Panel which cleared him to contest the party’s March 7 governorship primary, he faulted the purported campaign of calumny against him.

He thanked the committee and the national leadership of the party for standing by truth and justice.

“As for me, I repeat – we are not enemies, we want to serve; our ambition should not be a do or die affair. Let the delegates decide the candidate, let the voters elect the governor.

“We must be mindful of our actions as we belong to the same party and family. We must be getting set for a united front to defeat our common enemy”.

If elected as the party’s nominee in the PDP primary, it would be the second time Adeleke would vie for the apex position in Osun State.

It would be recalled that he contested the election on the PDP platform in September 2018 but was defeated by the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola in what could be described as a close contest.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of the poll following a supplementary election held in seven polling units.

After trailing Ademola by 353 votes going into the supplementary election, Oyetola later secured the needed votes to help him overturn the deficit.

In the final votes announced by the electoral body, the governor polled 255,505 votes, while Adeleke scored 255,023 votes.

The PDP candidate in the 2018 election, however, lost the bid to be returned as governor, even up to the Supreme Court.