Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has condemned the criticism by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, over his endorsement of President Bola Tinubu, accusing the former governor of threatening to manipulate the August 15 governorship election.
Adeleke, in a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, took exception to Oyetola’s reported remark, “A maa gba lowo e,” translated as “we will snatch it from him”.
The governor said the remark amounted to an open threat to the conduct of a free and fair election in the state.
He called on national and international democracy organisations to intervene, saying the people of Osun would resist any attempt to undermine their democratic rights.
Adeleke maintained that his endorsement of Tinubu was a demonstration of political strength, rather than weakness, arguing that it reflected his ability to mobilise votes for the President in Osun.
The governor also accused Oyetola of engaging in activities that he claimed were damaging Tinubu’s image and contributing to the declining popularity of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
According to Adeleke, Oyetola’s alleged declaration that the APC would “snatch” the election amounted to an admission that the party had lost the confidence of Osun voters and was now relying on manipulation of the electoral process.
He urged voters and democratic institutions to remain vigilant ahead of the election, insisting that the outcome must reflect the will of the electorate.
“The minister has made a mockery of innocent Accord members who were killed and maimed by APC thugs in cold blood in the last two months. He has told the world that he is pushing to deny the people their rights to vote and be voted for,” Adeleke said.
He said, “The bad news for the minister is that Osun people are determined to resist his sadistic agenda. Our people rejected him in 2022, and they will reject his surrogate candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, next Saturday.
“As for us, we are winning this election by the grace of God and mass support of the people. We are not going to snatch the democratic rights of the people as Mr Oyetola had threatened. We will be re-elected by the choice of the voters.”
The governor urged democracy advocates across Nigeria and the international community to pay attention to the development, saying the state was determined to protect the integrity of the August 15 poll.
The Nation Newspapers
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