Adeleke to Tinubu: Osun Accord Backing your Re-election Bid — Wade into Guber Violence

Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, has asked President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the pre-election violence gripping the state.

The Accord party in Osun recently endorsed the president’s re-election bid and Adeleke says that should earn the state some reprieve. 

The governor spoke on Monday at a campaign rally in Olorunda LGA, warning against a repeat of the 1983 political crisis in the south-west.

BACKGROUND

Adeleke is seeking re-election on the Accord party platform, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) battling to reclaim the state after four years on the sidelines.

Over the past few weeks, Osun has witnessed renewed clashes, with members of both political camps baying for blood, as they move to consolidate early gains ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

Shortly after the re-election of Shehu Shagari as Nigeria’s president on August 6, 1983, amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud, governorship elections were held on August 13.

At the time, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) controlled the federal government under Shagari, while the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by Obafemi Awolowo, held sway across the south-west.

However, during the governorship election, the then Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) declared NPN candidates winners across UPN strongholds, a move widely viewed as the result of blatant rigging backed by “federal power”.

The outcome triggered widespread post-election violence, protests, arson and killings across the region.

‘WE’LL RESIST RIGGING’

Drawing similarities between the 1983 south-west crisis and the current political climate in Osun, Adeleke said the people of the state would not accept any form of electoral manipulation.

“President Tinubu, you asked us to endorse your re-election which we have done. Why then are they killing our people?” the governor queried.

“Don’t let what happened in 1983 repeat itself. President Tinubu, Osun people and the Accord party have endorsed you as our presidential candidate. Why are we suffering? Why is our money being kept?

“The police have become compromised. The kidnappers are there, let them go after them. President Tinubu, I am crying out to you now, so you won’t say I didn’t speak out. I am the chief security officer of Osun state.”

The governor also asked the president to call Adegboyega Oyetola, his predecessor and minister of marine and blue economy, to order.

“Oyetola needs to be called to order. We all have children. May the blood of innocent children killed punish those behind the killings. May God punish them,” he said.

“What’s the problem, President Tinubu? Oyetola has fought everyone.”

In a post on his X page after the rally, the governor reiterated his appeal to the president, saying a free and fair election is non-negotiable in the state.

“At the campaign rally today in Olorunda Local Government Area, I appealed directly to Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Osun is bleeding, and our people will not be intimidated,” Adeleke wrote.

“His intervention is needed. The loss of innocent lives in Osun must stop. All we are asking for is simply a free and fair election.”

‘ACT AS A FATHER TO THE NATION’

He said Tinubu must act as the father of the nation by helping to safeguard the democracy he fought for.

“I reminded the President that the 2027 general elections are also around the corner, and he should not allow his nephew, Mr. Oyetola, the Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, to ruin his name and the democracy he fought along with many others,” he said.

“It is our collective prayer that, as a country, may we never witness such an incident as the political violence of 1983, particularly in the south-west.”

He added that democracy only works when the people are allowed to freely choose their leaders.