Osun Defender Online Version of February 22, 2022

CSO Condemns Osun APC Primary Election

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 - THURSDAY, MARCH 03, 2022 VOL 17 NO. 07

How Oyetola Manipulated Osun APC Gov’ship Primary

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•Oyetola

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F

•Lasun

•Adeoti

Interpreting The Figures

igures matter. In the Anambra APC Primary election in 2021, Andy Uba ‘scored’ 230,201. In the general election he scored 43,285 votes. This absurdity appears to be the template used in the APC primary last Saturday in Osun.

A well regarded program on national television on Sunday afternoon referred to the purported margin of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in Saturday’s primary election of the APC as audacious. Could this have been a Freudian slip? For audacious in this context can be interpreted as suspicious.

History is made under pre-existing conditions. For this reason, empirical evidence comes in handy in evaluating at times concocted reality. A good example of a recent “descent from tragedy into farce” comes from last year’s Anambra State governor-

APC 2018 primary election: Oyetola - 127,017 votes Osun 2018 Governorship election: Oyetola - 255,505 votes APC 2022 Primary Election: Osun APC Registered Members: 408,697 Accredited Voters: 247,207 Total votes cast: 235,550 Votes Cast For Oyetola - 222,169 votes

ship election. In that election, Andy Uba scored a whopping 230, 201 votes in the APC’s primary election. Having secured the party’s governorship ticket, Uba in the general election garnered 43,285 votes.

This is stranger than fiction. It shows that the primary election based on a dodgy (at best) voters register was not a reflection of the choice of the party members.

History is haunting again after the recent primary election in the state of Osun.

Ludicrously, the membership register of the APC in Osun state is shrouded in •Continued on page 2

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Kazeem Badmus

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OALITION Of Civil Socie es Of Nigeria which observed the last Saturday’s governorship primary elec on of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has described it as a mockery of democracy.

The civil society group, while addressing the press at the NUJ Correspondents’ chapel yesterday, said the APC primary fell short of acceptable interna onal standard.

According to the CSOs, the APC primary was grossly marred by violence, issues of electoral irregulari es, lack of sensi ve materials like result sheet, opera onal and logis cal challenges, security issues among others.

Presen ng a communique on their observaon of the elec on, the leader of the team, Comrade Aloma Williams, said the elec on was bias, recommending that the na onal secretariat of the APC should inves gate the irregulari es reported

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Civil Societies Condemn Osun APC Primary Election •Say It is Marred With Irregularities in the elec on.

Some of the iden fied irregulari es, according to the CSOs are lack of ac-

credita on in the wards where they observed the elec on, non-availability of result sheet, disen-

franchisement of voters, among others.

The communique reads in part: “In majority of the

•(R-L) Com. Aloma Williams, Com. Patrick Usman and a female member of Coalition of Civil Society Group, Nigeria.

wards where we visited in the affected local governments, there was no accredita on. In few places where accredita on held, it was a shambolic show, filled with pretence. Ward 15, Oyan, Odo-O n LG, Ward 5, Apomu, Isokan LG, Ward 8, Ilesa East LG, Ward 8, Ayetoro, Osogbo LG, Ward 2, 4 and 5 also in Osogbo LG and other places are example of this irregulari es. “Our team observed and note that there was generally non-availability of result sheets at the wards where we observed the elec on.

In some cases, ordinary A4 papers and official letter head of the party were used instead.

“We don’t know who is who, but there are complaints from party members that government officials who are appointed by the Governor (who is also an aspirant in the elec on) were used as Returning Officers instead of the officials of the In-

Osogbo Traders Turn Roads To Sales Ground Kazeem Badmus

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RADERS in Osogbo, capital of the State of Osun, have turned major roads in the city to sales ground where they display their goods, thereby restricting motorists to a li le por on of the roads.

Inves ga on by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that popular among the markets where such prac ce of turning roads to sale ground are Igbona, Ota Efun, Old Garage, Sta on road and Owode Ede. There is always heavy traffics on the roads on the market day of each of these markets.

The State House of Assembly had in 2016 passed ‘Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibi on’ into law.

The law prohibits hawking or exposing goods, wares and ar cles for sale or offer service whether or not from a sta onary posi on in any place or streets in some major towns of the state or within the vicinity of any public building in the state.

The bill also discouraged extension of shops into the walkways, road setbacks and building lines, as well as indiscriminate pas ng of posters or banners, adver sing goods and services on side-wall, bus stops, bridges or any other unauthorised space.

However, visits to the markets by OSUN DEFENDER showed that most of the traders have

li le or no regard for the law, as they were seen displaying their goods on the roads.

Some of the traders who spoke with the medium said they chose to use the road in other to a ract more customers.

According to them, using their rented shops especially during market days might not bring enough sales as most traders display on the

roads, thereby blocking intending customers from coming into their shops.

When asked if they consider the danger of selling on the road, Miss Folake Owoade, a cloth seller at Igbona market said: “We are looking for what we will eat and God will always protect us”.

Speaking on the issue, a lawyer, Mr. Bode Olabamiji described the situa on as

‘No ce me Marke ng’, adding that the level at which traders are defying the Highway laws is alarming.

According to Olabamiji, most of the traders have shops where they kept their goods but prefers to move it to the main road to display and sell.

He called on the state government to act fast before it claims lives.

Olabamiji said: “It is an offence to be selling

Again, Hoodlums Destroy Aregbesola’s Billboard Hours After APC Primary Election Yusuf Oketola

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OURS a er the All Progressives Congress (APC) governoship primary elec on in the state of Osun, a billboard erected with the picture of the Minister of Interior, Og-

•The destroyed bill board.

beni Rauf Aregbesola, has been destroyed by hoodlums in Osogbo the state capital.

The billboard, which was erected at the popular Jaleoyemi junc on, Osogbo, was said to have been destroyed few

hours a er the primary elec on on Saturday by some unknown thugs.

The a ack on the billboard is coming up for a second me in the year 2022. The first a ack came up few hours after some unknown gunmen a acked Oranmiyan House with intent to set it ablaze.

Residents of the area who spoke with newsmen under condi on of anonymity, said they woke up to see the billboard destroyed on Sunday.

It would be recalled that the same billboard was last year vandalised by hoodlums allegedly ac ng on the order of the Commissioner for Environment and Sanitaon, Engr. Sola Oladepo.

on the main road and the situa on is ge ng worse day by day. If urgent acon is not taking, the effects may be too much to bear.

“This is what I called ‘no ce me marke ng’.

Most of these traders have shops where they store their goods but they will leave the shops and go to the road to display their goods.

“Motorist on both sides of the road have to nego ate the remaining li le space and we should remember what happened in Akoda few years back. Must we wait for the impending danger again?

dependent Na onal Electoral Commission (INEC).

There was no any INEC official in all the wards.

“Violence was recorded in some vo ng centres in some of the wards. In Osogbo, Boripe, Ede, Ilesa East and Oriade LGs, thugs were sta oned at every ward and electorates were chased away from the vo ng centres.

“Of note is disrupons of elec on in Ward 1 (Dispensary, Erin-Oke), 7 (Town Hall, Ikeji-Arakeji) and 9 (Afinbiokin Hall, Ipetu-Ijesa) of Oriade Local Government Area, Ward 7, Ikeji-Owena and Ward 9, Ipetu-Ijesa. There were several gunshots at Ward 7 (St. Johns Pry Sch, Loro/Roye), Ilesa, Ilesa East Local Government Area.

“At Ward 6, Sabo Agbongbe, Ede, a former Chairman of Ede North Local Council Development Area, Com. Mukaila Uthman was shot by armed thugs during the primary elec on. Elec on could not hold in Gidigbo Ward 2, Post Office Area, Iwo, Iwo local government area because of violence too.

The CSOs concluded that: “The elec on fell short of acceptable interna onal standard as it was grossly marred by violence, issues of electoral irregulari es, lack of sensi ve materials like result sheet, opera onal and logis cal challenges, security issues among others.

“Party primaries are to be free, fair and credible as it is the basis for good governance. The elec on is a mockery of democracy and a suppression of peoples will. The primary elec on cannot stand the scru ny of parameters for a free and fair elec on.”

Interpreting The Figures •Continued from page 1

mystery. It ought to be a public document available to all interested parties.

The other contestants on Saturday were not privy to it. Only Governor Oyetola was. This absurdity runs against elementary principles of equity, fairness and justice. The Andy Uba debacle could just be replicating itself here.

In the box inserted we have done a comparative analysis of voting trends. It shows that Oyetola’s vote has gone up from 127,017 in the 2018 primary election of the APC to Saturday’s 222, 169 votes. Those certified this quantum leap must present the quantitative analysis to explain why. It must be noted that the total number of APC votes in the 2018 governorship election in which nonparty members must have voted for the party was 255,505.

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ISSN : 0794 - 8050

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APC Primary How Oyetola Manipulated Osun APC Gov’ship Primary Our Reporter

The Way Forward

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HE conven onal wisdom is that the so-called governorship primary elecon of the All Progressives Congress held in the State of Osun on Saturday did not reflect the wishes of the members of the party. Hardly surprising that it has been met with cold indifference.

In a contrived charade, the membership was relegated to the posi on of extras in someone else’s movie. The alloca on of fantasy figures is even a reflec on of reality.

With the nega on of even tenta ve reality, the charade became a descent “from tragedy into farce”.

With the supremacy of the party in ta ers, the normal ques on asked at a cri cal juncture is “What is to be done?”. In this scenario cannot win the war. though it is prudent to ask It is to be hoped that the about the way forward out core of the progressive soul of an unnecessary quagmire. can s ll be revived in the State Those who were so brutally of Osun. For the construc on robbed off their democrat- of a progressive hegemony ic rights have the op on of came at a great cost. The iroseeking redress in the courts. ny is not lost that some of the As a ma er of fact, refusal cheerleaders of today’s heist might be interpreted as inad- were resolute in their oppovertently suppor ng a heist si on to a progressive victory or worse s ll repudia on of in the State of Osun during a moral obliga on and der- the struggle to dismantle the elic on of duty. For it is clear regime of Olagunsoye Oyinthat the principle of party lola. supremacy and the control We pray that good sense of the membership over the prevails even though it is a party was completely negat- long shot! ed.

Another op on is for a rapprocheOSUN DEFENDER ment between – Moremi Publishing those who repre- Publisher House Ltd. sent the ins tuDeputy Editor – Ismaeel Uthman onal memory of (0805-121-2204) the progressive Produc on Editor – Petkola Taiwo Ibitowa movement and the Reporter – Yusuf Oketola Johnny just come Reporter – Kazeem Badmus lately who have Photo Journalist – Olushola Aderinto engineered a self- Computer Graphics – Zainab Olalere serving seizure of OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing the apparatus of House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite the party. The or- Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Gbogan Road Osogbo, ganisers of the heist State of Osun : 0794-8050 should know if they ISSN Telephone : 0805-121-2204 are not too far gone Website : www.osundefender.com/index.php that this is a pyrrhic e-mail : osundefender@yahoo.com osundefenderbank@gmail.com victory. From what All correspondence to the above email addresses. is on ground, they

“Those who were so brutally robbed off their democratic rights have the option of seeking redress in the courts. As a matter of fact, refusal might be interpreted as inadvertently supporting a heist or worse still repudiation of a moral obligation and dereliction of duty. For it is clear that the principle of party supremacy and the control of the membership over the party was completely negated”

T

HE governorship primary elec on of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held last Saturday in the State of Osun, was manipulated in favour of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, inves ga ons have revealed.

OSUN DEFENDER has uncovered how the process leading to the conduct of the primary elecon was schemed to ensure that Oyetola secured the cket of the party.

Findings revealed that the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Na onal Caretaker and Extra Ordinary Conven on Planning Commi ee of the APC, had long before now vowed to protect the interest of its members, par cularly the governors among them.

It was learnt that each member of the NCECPC has been having his or her way in the administraon of the party in their various states.

Governor Oyetola is a member of the commi ee and the only person from the South-West geopoli cal zone of the country.

According to sources at the naonal secretariat, Governor Oyetola had pleaded with Buni and other members of the commi ee not to disgrace him by ensuring that the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola does not take over the party in the wake of the ongoing faceoff between them.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the NCECPC resolved to rally round Oyetola and protect his interest which manifested in last year’s congresses of the party in the state.

On the governorship primary elec on, the medium gathered that the NCECPC decided to hold the primary elec on on February 19 to ensure that the second term ambi on of Oyetola is not jeopardised.

It would be recalled that the primary elec on had earlier been fixed for March 5 before it was reversed to February 19.

The reason for the reversal, according to sources at the na onal secretariat, was to make sure that Oyetola’s men conducted the primary before the na onal convenon of the party.

It was learnt that Oyetola was afraid of the outcome of the na onal conven on and thus pleaded with NCECPC to reverse the date to ensure that it was the commi ee that conducted the primary.

The sources said Oyetola was allowed to nominate the committee that will conduct the primary in the state.

Findings revealed that Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, had earlier been chosen to head the governorship primary elecon commi ee in Osun before he was replaced with the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

According to sources, the reason behind AbdulRazaq’s choice is that he is also having a running ba le with the Minister of Informa on and Culture, Lai Muhammed, and would definitely sympathise with Oyetola who is also having issues with Aregbesola.

The AbdulRazaq commi ee did not arrive Osun un l around 1pm on Friday.

The commi ee went to the Government House to meet Governor Oyetola and later invited former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representa ves, Hon. Lasun Yussuff and former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeo , to a meeting at the party secretariat by 5pm.

Adeo was invited around 3pm, according to Comrade Abiodun Agboola, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Osun.

Addressing the three governorship aspirants, the commi ee said direct primary would be used for the elec on with the party register, just as it promised a free and fair elec on.

Adeo , while making his comment, said the register of the party was not made available to him and other stakeholders in the party.

He said the register ought to have been displayed for claims and objec ons before the day of the primary elec on.

Dele on of Names From Register

Thousands of Adeo ’s supporters could not find their names in the said register of the party which was pasted on the wall of each of the colla on centres of the 332 wards where vo ng was taking place.

OSUN DEFENDER noted that the report of missing names of the APC members who are loyalists of Aregbesola and Adeo cut across the state, a development that disenfranchised sizeable number of the APC members.

Members of the APC in Ward 15, Oyan, Odo-O n Local Government of the State of Osun protested the dele on of their names from the register of the party.

The APC members who gathered at the Colla on Centre of ward at the early hours of Satur•Continued on page 4

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How Oyetola Manipulated Osun APC Gov’ship Primary •Continued from page 3

day, said all the names of the party members who belong to The Osun Progressives (TOP) have been removed from the register.

Leading the protesters, a veteran journalist, Mrs. Adesola Adegbite said: “We are at Ward 15, CMS ground, Oyan, Odo-O n Local Government. We came here very early to par cipate in the party’s governorship elecon primary. We waited for some me before some people came. They pasted a paper containing the names of APC members. But we could not find our names in the register. This elec on is not free, fair and credible.

Speaking in same direc on, the APC chairman of the ward, Mrs. Adenike Afolabi, said: “It is unfortunate that names of all members of the APC who belong to TOP have been removed from the party register. This is not fair.”

In Ward 5, Apomu, Isokan Local Government Council of the state, members of the APC also protested the dele on of their names from the register in spite of their membership card.

The APC members also accused one Alani Oladejo of using the opera ves of Amotekun corps, members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and Agbekoya armed with dangerous weapons to harass them at the vo ng centre.

APC Members Disenfranchised In Aregbesola’s Ward Amidst Overvo ng

Some members of the APC in Ward 8, Ilesa East Local Government of the State were also prevented from vo ng in the governorship primary of the party.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is from Ifofin, Ward 8.

He was away in Ghana for official assignment.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that names of majority of the APC members who are loyalists of Aregbesola has been deleted from party’s register being used for accredita on.

The APC members could not be accredited to vote as their names were not in the register, a development that resulted into protest at Apostolic Central School, Isare, Ilesa.

In response to the protest, the returning officers who were appointed by Governor Oyetola, told the APC members to approach the court with their grievances.

This is just as there was over vo ng in the same ward.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the accredited voters at the ward were about 300 while votes declared for Oyetola was 340 without the other aspirants votes.

sults were either wri en on plain paper or le erhead of the party.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the official result sheet was at designated place in each of the ward where votes were reportedly allocated to Oyotola irrespec ve of what he got during the elec on.

•Members of Osun APC waiting to be accredited during the last Saturday’s primary election at ward 4 Union Baptist School, Osogbo.

Eventually, over 500 votes were recorded against 300 accredited votes.

No Accredita on As PDP Members Were Mobilised To Vote For Oyetola

OSUN DEFENDER noted that there was no accredita on in majority of the wards where the elec on took place.

The primary elec on commi ee had said that accredita on would take place between 8am and 12pm.

But in majority of the wards visited by the medium in Osogbo, Ede, Ilesa, Ife and Iwo, there was no any accredita on.

In few places where it took place, the total number of accredited voters was not disclosed, giving room for higher alloca on of votes for Governor Oyetola.

The accredita on done in some places were also skewed in favour of Oyetola as members of the group were allowed to pass through accredita on process without stress.

This is just as some PDP members were mobilised by the Governor’s supporters for the primary elec on.

In ward 4 (Union Bap st Primary School, Odiolowo), 5 (Salva on Army School) and 2 (AUD Primary School) of Osogbo local government, some notable PDP members were seeing queuing behind Oyetola during the elec on.

The same thing was reported in Olorunda, Iwo, Ejigbo, Ede, Ife Central, Ife East and Irewole Local Governments of the state.

No Elec on Result Sheet

Official paper where the results of the pri-

•APC members on queue for accreditation at AUD Primary School, ward 2, Osogbo.

mary elec on in each of the wards will be recorded was not made available.

There was general complaint of nonavailability of the result sheet across the state, a development that ques oned the credibility of the elec on.

In some wards, the total number of votes go en by aspirants would just be announced but not recorded on paper.

However, in some other wards, the re-

ers

O y e t o l a ’s Appointees Serve As Returning Offic-

Supporters of Adeo had during the primary elec on raised the alarm over the usage of appointees of Governor Oyetola as electoral officials for the exercise.

According to the supporters, each member of the Caretaker Commi ee across the Local Government of the state served as Returning Officers in their wards.

They said the Governor’s appointees were interchanged to supervise the elec on across the state.

OSUN DEFENDER, who went round the state during the accredita on period of the primary elec on, noted that government officials were truly serving as electoral officers.

The medium gathered that the Oyetola appointees were given the mandate of delivering their various wards to Oyetola with a margin of nothing less than 500 votes, irrespec ve of the turnout of people.

Hoodlums At Vo ng Centres

There was scary presence of hoodlums in some of the vo ng centres in Osogbo, Iree, Ikirun, Ede, Ikire and Apomu during the governorship primary elec on.

OSUN DEFENDER observed that in spite of presence of security opera ves and large turnout of members of the APC for the exercise, the hoodlums had recognisable presence which was posing threats to the party members.

In Ward 1 (Laro Timehin Primary School), 2 (AUD Primary School, Isale Osun), 4 (Union Bap st Church, Odiolowo), 7 (Ita Olookan) and 8 (L.A Primary school, Oluode Aranyin) of Osogbo local government, the hoodlums were seeing smoking Indian hemp openly.

Also, in Ede and Ikire, it was reported that thugs were sta oned at every ward and supporters of Adeo were chased away from the vo ng centre.

The hoodlums also chased away supporters of Adeo in Iree, Ikirun and Ikire, according to some APC members.

Some of the APC members who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER alleged that the hoodlums were mobilized by government officials in the wards.

Returning Officers Refuse To Release Result, Add 300 Votes To Oyetola – Adeo ’s Agent

Mr. Kareem Fatai, an agent of Alhaji Moshood Adeo in Ward 9, Ibokun road, Osogbo, Osogbo Local Government, alleged that the returning officers for the governorship pri-

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How Oyetola Manipulated Osun APC Gov’ship Primary

•Supporters of Alhaji Moshood Adeoti during the last primary election, in Iwo.

mary elec on in the ward refused to record the elec on results in the result sheets.

Fatai also alleged that the returning officers added 300 votes to Governor Oyetola while coun ng members of the party who queued for the elec on.

He said: “When the returning officers came to our ward at Onreke, Agbedepupo, Ibokun road, Osogbo in the morning, we asked for the record and result sheets and the told us that they did not bring it.

“A er the accredita on, we asked for the result too and they told us that it was not with them. We complained to the security agents and they told us that we should be calm.

“While coun ng the people on the queue, 94 votes was recorded to Adeo . When the electoral officers counted 80 people for Oyetola, they jumped to 180. That generated reac ons but the security agents advised us to be calm so that the hoodlums around would not a ack us.

“We allowed them to con nue the counting and when they got to 205, they jumped to 305 again. We could not keep quiet and when we were ques oning them, the thugs around came forward and were ready to attack us. The security agents also pleaded with us to avoid violence as we were going to be the casual es.

“We could not do anything again. They con nued the coun ng and when they got to 340, they jumped to 440. At the end of the day, they recorded 446 for Oyetola.

“In the actual sense, Oyetola got 146 votes while Adeo got 94 votes. Three-hundred votes was fraudulently added to that of Oyetola.

“The votes was not recorded anywhere.

There was no result sheet, nor recording sheet.

“The security agents who included police, DSS and civil defence officers were not given results too.”

Elec on Disrupted In Erin-Oke, Owena, Ipetu-Ijesa

•Another cross section of APC faithful during the last primary election.

eye, the returning officers came to the collaon centre around 1pm and started rushing up the people to vote.

Adeyeye said the APC members who have been wai ng to be accredited since 8am, got furious and asked the returning officers to do accredita on before vo ng.

The returning officers reportedly said he was late and could not do any accredita on.

According to him, commo on broke out when Oyetola’s supporters a empted to go ahead with the elec on without accreditaon which was rejected by Adeo ’s supporters.

The development led to disrup on of the elec on.

In Ward 7, Ikeji-Owena and Ward 9, IpetuIjesa, the elec on was allegedly disrupted by hoodlums when the people on the queue were about to be counted.

The thugs were allegedly led by the Caretaker Chairman of Oriade South Local Government, Mr. Deji Ajimoji and one Mr. Bunmi Aboge around 12pm in Ward 7, Owena and around 1pm in Ipetu-Ijesa.

According to Mikail Oyediran, a member of the APC, the Chairman and the hoodlums came with a branded IleriOluwa bus and his official car.

Oyediran said the chairman and the thugs chased away the APC member on the queue and le .

Isale-Oba), Iwo, Iwo Local Government of the State of Osun, Mr Raji Kabiru, claimed that the votes recorded for Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the ward was inflated by 437 votes.

According to Kabiru, the actual votes go en

by Oyetola in the primary elec on of the ward is 163, while Adeo got 215.

Kabiru said there was accredita on before vo ng, sta ng that some PDP members were also brought to vote for Oyetola.

He said: “When the returning officers came to my ward, we asked for the result sheet but they said they did not bring it. There was nothing with them to show that they wanted to conduct elec on. We insisted that they should conduct accredita on but they did not do that.

“Alao Kamoru, the fac onal secretary of the APC and other people working for Governor Oyetola were bringing people from other places, including PDP members to come and queue for Oyetola.

“At the end of the day, they counted 215 votes for Adeo and 163 for Oyetola. But when they wanted to make official announcement for the elec on, they declared Oyetola winner with 600 votes. They had inflated it with 437 votes.

Ward Chairman Alleges Inflaon Of Oyetola’s Vote by 437 In Iwo

There were several gunshots at Ward 7 (St. Johns Pry Sch, Loro/Roye), Ilesa, Ilesa East Local Government of the State of Osun, as hoodlums reportedly chased away supporters of Alhaji Moshood Adeo during the declara on of result.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that there were disagreements between Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Adeo ’s supporters over declara on of accredited voters.

According to Alaba Popoola, a member of the APC and a supporter of Adeo , the Returning Officers at the ward refused to announced the total number of accredited voters against the normal prac ce.

Popoola stated that 808 votes were announced for Oyetola while 46 was declared for Adeo at the end of the exercise.

He said: “We knew that they were planning to rig the elec on and that was why we asked for

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ward 1 (A.U.D. Sch. Akinfenwa,

Gunshot As Hoodlums Chase Away Adeo ’s Supporters In Ilesa

The governorship primary elec on in Ward 1 (Dispensary, Erin-Oke), 7 (Town Hall, IkejiArakeji) and 9 (Afinbiokin Hall, Ipetu-Ijesa) of Oriade Local Government of the State of Osun was reportedly disrupted.

According to an APC member Speaker State of Osun House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salaam, addressing party in Ward 1, Erin-Oke, Yinusa Adey- •Former faithful after the accreditation in his ward during the last APC primary election, in Ejigbo.

•Continued from page 6

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How Oyetola Manipulated Osun APC Gov’ship Primary But the returning officer said he would wait un l everybody has been accredited, a development that led to commo on.

In the process, the returning officer reportedly fled the centre and vo ng could not hold as a result.

Primary Organised Under Highly Compromised Atmosphere Adebisi

•Members of APC waiting to be accredited at ward 2, Olutimehin Grammar school, Osogbo.

•Continued from page 5

the number of accredited voters. When they declared 808 for Oyetola, the APC members rejected the result and before we know it, hoodlums started trooping in with gunshots.

They were shoo ng into the air to scare people away.”

Thugs Assault Woman For Protes ng Rigging In Asamu

A female member of the APC in Ward 2 (Town Hall), Asamu, Olaoluwa Local Government of the State of Osun, Taiwo Aremu, was reportedly assaulted by hoodlums who invaded the colla on centre where the governorship primary elec on of the party was taking place.

Aremu was reportedly assaulted when she led a protest against queuing on a single line for both Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Alhaji Moshood Adeo as directed by the returning officers.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the returning officers asked the APC members who wanted to vote for either of Oyetola and Adeo to be on a single queue.

Adeo ’s supporters, led by Aremu, reported kicked against the direc ve, alleging that the returning officers wanted to rig for Oyetola.

When the protest was on, some hoodlums, who were allegedly led by one General stormed the colla on centre and went straight for the woman.

According to Aremu who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER in a telephone interview, General wanted to strangle her before she was rescued by other members of the party.

Aremu said the thugs chased away all Adeo supporters at the colla on centre while the returning offices declared result in favour of Oyetola.

Ex-Council Chair Shot As Thugs Disrupt Elec on In Ede

A former Chairman of Ede North Local Council Development Area, Com. Mukaila Uthman was shot by armed thugs during the primary elec on of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ede, on Saturday.

Uthman was a acked by known notorious hoodlums who have been terrorising Ede community at Sagba Agbonngbe, at Ward 6, Sabo Agbongbe, Ede. Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, Uthman who is popularly known as Bele, confirmed the a ack, saying he survived three gunshots and several machete cuts unleashed on him.

He said: “I was at Alusekere ward to check how the primary elec on was going there. Our people had been harassed but when I got there, their spirit was high and they proceeded to vote.

Suddenly, these thugs just came from nowhere and they came for me directly. They fired three gunshots at me and when the bullet could not penetrate, the thugs unleashed machete cuts on me. But I thank God I survived the a ack.

“There was no elec on in Ede. There was no accredita on and result sheets were not made available. Governor Oyetola’s appointed Chairmen and members of local government caretaker commi ee were the electoral officials.

Everything was manipulated. It is a shame.”

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the hoodlums who were allegedly sponsored by some government officials disrupted the elec on in other wards in both Ede South and Ede North Local government.

Vo ng Didn’t Hold In Adeo ’s Ward The primary elec on could not hold at Gidigbo Ward 2, Post Office Area, Iwo, Iwo local government area of the State, where Moshood Adeo was supposed to cast his vote.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that there was influx of outsiders to the ward which made the place over crowded.

The outsiders, according to Niyi Adeo , the son of the governorship aspirant, were brought by some government officials who wanted to rig elec on for the governor.

It was gathered that the accredita on exercise could not be concluded ll around 5:30pm because the outsiders con nued to troop in.

The development led to agita on from the APC members who had been spending hours on the queue.

According to Niyi Adeo , the APC members asked the Returning Officers to stop accredita on and conduct elec on.

Commen ng on the elec on, a member of the APC in Ikire, Irewole Local Government of the state, Comrade Wale Adebisi, said the outcome of the primary was not surprising, saying it was organised under an atmosphere that was highly compromised by Oyetola.

He said: “We are having three aspirants at the primary. Unfortunately, it was one of the aspirants who appropriated the processes and ac vi es of that primary to his advantage and that is Oyetola. The management of the primary was highly fabricated and faulty.

“The second one is the agent assigned by the aspirants are not allowed to have access to the documents of the primary. The registers used in some of the units, some names were seriously expunged on those registers and the photocopies which is against the rule of the primary.

“The third one, the copies of those registers are supposed to be given to the contestants ahead of the primary which was not done. The agents of other contestants are not even allowed to register their names as agents. They were not given the tag to symbolise them as an agent.

“The accredita on was done by party membership. Oyetola’s agents were given some people they brought from other places party membership cards. I am given you an eyewitness account. I supervise elec on in Irewole local government.

“In fact, people who queued for Oyetola were not counted. They just allocated votes/ figures for him. But people of other contestants were counted. Why was Oyetola’s people not counted? They needed to allocate vote for the governor for face saving. It was glaring, parcularly in ward 6 where the deputy governor voted.

•Cross section of APC members during the last primary election at Ward 5, Salvation Army Grammar School, Osogbo.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 - THURSDAY, MARCH 03, 2022

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News

Osogbo, From Clean To Filthy State Capital Kazeem Badmus

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N interna onal Non-Governmental Organisa on, CleanUp Nigeria, recently announced the State of Osun as the third dir est state in Nigeria at the public presenta on of the State of the Nigeria Environment Report 2021 in Abuja.

According to the organisa on which has a consulta ve status with the United Na ons since 1994, no fewer than 172.7 million Nigerians were living in unclean environment with residents of the state of Osun among the most affected.

The report outlined the cleanliness performance index ra ngs of all states/ towns of the federa on, as the study was carried out from December, 2020 to November, 2021.

As soon as the report filtered on the internet, the State Government of Osun, through the Commissioner for Informa on and Civic Orienta on, Funke Egbemode, dismissed the report, describing it has ‘lazy armchair mischief’.

The commissioner in the statement called on members of the public to disregard the report, as it

did not reflect the situa on in Osun.

But findings by OSUN DEFENDER in Osogbo revealed that the state capital is no longer a clean city as it was some few years back.

OSUN DEFENDER reporter went round some areas in Osogbo and noted that most of the major roads linking the city are dirty with heap of refuse by the roadside.

Our reporter visited Ota Efun, Igbona, Oke Fia, Old Garage, Alekuwodo, Jaleoyemi and Ogo-Oluwa area and observed that refuse was on the median of the main roads at noon.

It was observed that the refuse would have li ered the road before it would be cleared by workers of the Osun Road Waste Management (OWMA) who are opera ng with just two trucks.

Some residents who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER berated those dumping refuse by the roadside, calling on the government to enact a law that will punish anyone found guilty.

Others residents were of the opinion that OWMA is not doing its job properly, hence, the reason why the heap of refuse is by the

•Heaps of refuse at Oke Fia Round about.

roadside.

Mr. Akanbi Oladapo, a resident of Jaleyemi area, Osogbo, said since the government did not create a par cular place for residents to dump their refuse, they would resort to dumping it by the roadside for the OWMA workers to pack it.

According to Oladapo, the government should provide a big tank in every community where the peo-

ple will drop their refuse to be packed by the OWMA trucks.

He said most of the people living in Jaleyemi are not financially bouyant enough to use private waste managers.

Mrs. Boladale Iyabo, a food vendor at Alekuwodo said the government should enact a law which will punish anyone found of dumping refuse by the road side.

Iyabo said it is not ideal

Primary Election A Sham – Salinsile Ismaeel Uthman

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HE Alhaji Rasaq Salinsile led fac on of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has rejected the result of last Saturday’s governorship primary elec ons.

Speaking at a stakeholders mee ng held yesterday, at Oranmiyan House, Osogbo, Salinsile noted that the primary was a charade, ruse and sham.

He stated that the primary elec on was fraught with fraud and manipula on.

Salinsile said: “We put it on record the fact that there were so many anomalies, all of which incidentally, we have made known before Saturday’s event.

PUBLICATION OF NAME MRS. AJAYI ADEBOLA OLUWASEUN That I was formerly known and addressed as MISS OKE ADEBOLA O L U W A S E U N .

Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AJAYI ADEBOLA OLUWASEUN. All former documents remain valid.

SWSN (AMOTEKUN) and General public should take note.

“We put on record that as at the day of elecon, Alhaji Moshood Adeo , our governorship aspirant, was not allowed to have access to the membership register by which the exercise took place.

“By this, he was denied knowledge of how many members the party had as at the day of the elec on which is contrary to morality and the law.

“We put on record the fact that many people were disenfranchised, as APC members who trooped to the elec on centres with their membership slips, could not find their names on the register.

“Contrary to the guidelines, accreditaon did not take place in many elec on centres while result sheets were unavailable.

“The appointees of Governor Gboyega Oyetola were the appointed electoral officers and supervisors of the exercise.

“We note that there were over vo ng in some areas while the much

talked about presence of Independent Na onal Electoral Commission INEC was far-fetched.

“Many members who were not part of Governor Oyetola’s IleriOluwa group were chased away from the elec on centres by thugs and hoodlums hired by government agents.

“Prior to the Saturday’s high level display of impunity called elecon, we have had to call on Governor Oyetola to resign from membership of the Na onal Caretaker and Extraordinary Con-

ven on Planning Commi ee (NCECPC) as it runs against morality and the law.

“That posi on was used by Governor Oyetola to get so many things manipulated in the process leading to conduct of the primary, including the fur ve change of date of the exercise.

“We are therefore convinced that jus ce has not been served and therefore rejects the result and will be approaching the Appeal Committee to be set up by the Na onal Secretariat.”

ADP Holds Non-Elective Congress Ismaeel Uthman

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HE Ac on Democra c Party (ADP) in the State of Osun held its non-elec ve congress on Saturday, February 19, 2022 in preparaon for the July 16, 2022 governor gubernatorial elec ons in the state.

With the congress, the incumbent offic-

ers of the party from the ward to state levels will steer the affairs of the party for the next four years.

Hon. Toye Akinola, the State Chairman of the party, who spoke with our correspondent a er the congress, said there was no rancour with the arrangement as every member was happy with it.

for residents to be making the state unclean, adding that, “there are other ways to dispose waste without li ering the roads.”

A resident of OgoOluwa, Mr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, was of the view that the blame should be laid at the doorsteps of the Osun Waste Management Agency, claiming that the agency is no longer doing its job as before.

He said: “I do not know what the problem is but the waste management agency its not doing its job anymore. Some mes, they come here around 4pm to pack the waste which was not the situa on during the last administra on.

“People who are traveling to and from this state will pass through these areas and what they see will form their opinion about the state”.

When contacted, the state commissioner for Environment and Sanita on, Mr. Sola Oladepo warned those engaging in the act to desist, adding that anyone caught will be prosecuted.

Oladepo who a ributed the delay in evacua ng the refuse to inadequate waste vehicles said effort is ongoing towards procuring more vehicles.

“It is something that has been going on for long and we have made attempts. Dumping waste on the median is an offence by the environmental law and anybody caught will have to face the music.

“The government is having its challenges especially in terms of vehicles.

Out of all the vehicles that were bought before, most of them are not func oning again because there are no spare parts to service them. Some of them are outdated.

“The present administra on is making efforts at ge ng addi onal vehicles to help the opera ons and once we get that, it will

ease up.

“What we can see on those roads could be a delay in evacua ng the refuse but we are trying our best to make sure that before 10am everyday, they are off the roads”.

In his reac on, the immediate past General Manager of OWMA in the state, Mr. Femi Ogunbamiwo, attributed the late evacua on of the refuse to shortage of vehicles.

Ogunbamiwo said some of the vehicles being used in the evacua on of the waste are faulty, hence, the delay in evacua on.

He however warned residents to desist from dumping refuse on the road, adding that whoever is caught will face the full wrath of the law.

He said: “The reason for the late evacua on of waste on our roads is that most of the vehicles the agency is using are not func oning very well again and the agency have to manage the ones available.

“Residents dumping refuse by the roadside are doing so during the night and anyone caught will face the wrath of the law.

“Every resident ought to have a waste bin where they will dump there refuse and contract a private waste management to offload it for them, but the problem most of our people have is that they do not want to pay any amount for it.

“They want the government to do all the work for them, forge ng that government cannot do it alone. Private waste managers charge N1,000 per month and that is not much compared to the stress of the job.

“The state government recently inaugurate a commi ee that will see to the sani sa on of the state and anyone caught dumping refuse on the road will have herself to blame.”

ISSN : 0794 - 8050

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 - THURSDAY, MARCH 03, 2022 VOL. 17 NO. 07 www.osundefender.com, email: osundefenderbank@gmail.com

Osogbo Traders Turn Road To Sales Ground Page 2

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N a democracy, people have the rights to choose whosoever they want as public office holders through general elec ons. In the same vein, poli cal party members have the rights to select through consensus or elec on who they want as their candidates to be presented for general elec ons. This is the whole essence of internal party democracy. A poli cal party cannot claim to be democra c and progressive unless it is inclusive and representave. This has been a major challenge, especially in the two dominant par es in Nigeria - APC and PDP - as imposion of candidates by the party leadership through manipula ons and other fraudulent means is the order of the day.

Osun APC just concluded charade tagged APC Primary elec on of 19, February, 2022, was a clear demonstra on of nothing but a shambolic exercise.

How do I mean? There are two fac ons in the party – Oyetola/Famodun and Aregbesola/Salinsile led excos.

The two fac ons were fielding aspirants to elect the party candidate for 16 July, 2022 gubernatorial elec ons in the state. Oyetola/Famodun was fielding Governor Gboyega Oyetola while Aregbesola/Salinsile was presen ng Moshood Adeo and Lasun Yusuf was standing independently. Since the last registra on and revalida on exercise of APC membership in 2021, the party membership register has been domiciled with the Oyetola/Famodun led exco. Up ll the eve of the 19th February primaries, the Oyetola/Famodun led exco refused to avail both Aregbesola/Salinsile exco and Lasun Yusuf the membership register on which elec on will be based.

Moreover, the membership register was not pasted for display and verifica on for all APC members in all the 332 Ward Colla on Centres before the

“Again, there were no proper accreditation and result sheets on ground throughout the entire 332 wards, as pictures of the other two candidates (behinds which their supporters ought to queue) were largely absente”

APC Primaries: “Victory” Built On Sand primary. It is instruc ve to note that Governor Oyetola who was one of the aspirants contes ng in the primaries is a member of Governor Mai Mala Buni led APC Caretaker Extraordinary Conven on Planning Commi ee (CECPC), which was organising the said primaries. If Governor Gboyega Oyetola knew that he wanted to contest in an elec on that will be conducted by that CECPC in which he is a member, he supposed to have resigned from the Mala Buni led APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convenon Planning Commi ee (CECPC) four weeks earlier. APC cons tu on is very clear on this when it states in Ar cle 31 (iii) of its cons tu on, “Any Party office holder interested in contes ng for an elec ve office (whether party office or office in a general elec on) shall resign and leave office 30 days prior to the date of nomina on or party primary for the Office he or she is seeking to contest.”

You cannot be an examiner and student wri ng examina on at the same me.

This is contrary to law of natural jus ce and principle of fair play as you cannot be a judge in your own case.

The aforesaid reasons alone were enough for Aregbesola/Salinsile led fac on to walkout of the pre-rigged primaries and head to court of law as there are rules guiding the primaries which everybody must obey. Clearly, there was no level play ground ab ini o.

It could, however, be said, “You cannot ins tute li ga on in an elec on you did not partake.” Perhaps, the reason Aregbesola/Salinsile fac on partook so as to have locus standi.

In that charade, serving Chairmen and Councillors of Local Government Caretaker Commi ee appointed by Governor Oyetola and beholden to him, and whose very existence is an offense to the 1999 Cons tu on of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, were the presiding officials used for the conduct of the primaries in all the 332 Wards in the state rather than tradi onal elec on Adhoc staff like Youth Corps members and school teachers. The fact that nobody has yet challenged uncons tu onality of the concocted farce called Local Government Caretaker Commi ee does not validate it. The Supreme Court had

pronounced caretaker arrangement uncons tu onal, null and void, with finality. It is a tes mony to our collec ve docility and the u er disregards for rule of law by the Oyetola government that they s ll exist in Osun.

Again, there were no proper accredita on and result sheets on ground throughout the en re 332 wards, as pictures of the other two candidates (behinds which their supporters ought to queue) were largely absent. The pattern all over was to ask people to line up for coun ng without eventually announcing number of people accredited; and entering number of votes on a notebook to be later filled in favour of Governor Gboyega Oyetola. Where ques ons were asked on proper accredita on, threat of violence and real violence were deployed to silence and disperse them. People were systema cally and forcefully disenfranchised by removing their names from a bogus party register while the Party Membership slips they were holding was rejected as against clearly stated guidelines for the elec on. Figures were eventually manufactured and allocated indiscriminately by these government appointed officers. The announced results in all the 332 ward colla on centres were not the true reflec on of the wishes of the mass of party members.

Genuine APC members should not be dismayed or disillusioned. There are s ll rooms to address the injus ce. In the first instance, the court has not pronounced that there is no case to answer on the Aregbesola/Salinsile led exco li ga on on legality of its conducted ward congress and the illegality of the Oyetola/Famodun Party Exco. It has only said the case could not be heard by it as it lacks jurisdic on; sugges ng that there are s ll in-house room for reconcilia on. There is room for appeal up to the Supreme Court. Party Excos that emerged upon crooked congresses are retrogressive, undemocra c exercises in self deceit, ul mately doomed for defeat at the court of jus ce, along with every act and product of such excos.

Similar situa on had occurred in Zamfara state in 2019 when APC outgoing Governor, Abdullaziz Yaru, did not

“Similar situation had occurred in Zamfara state in 2019 when APC outgoing Governor, Abdullaziz Yaru, did not conduct valid primaries in the build up to 2019 general elections where APC candidate, Mukhtar Idris, was declared winner having polled 534,541 votes.

Eventually, the Supreme Court declared the APC primary illegal with N10million fine against it and declared PDP candidate from a distance second the winner” conduct valid primaries in the build up to 2019 general elec ons where APC candidate, Mukhtar Idris, was declared winner having polled 534,541 votes.

Eventually, the Supreme Court declared the APC primary illegal with N10million fine against it and declared PDP candidate from a distance second the winner.

In February 2019 again, Supreme Court banned APC from par cipa ng in Rivers state elec on because of lopsided primaries in the state. Similar situa on occurred in Bauchi, Rivers and Imo states.

Osun is, therefore, only ac ng to replicate the same familiar script that cannot stand the test of me.

Some people are of the opinion that Governor Aregbesola did same thing in 2018 in favour of Oyetola. Yes, in a democracy where there is a majority going the same direc on, it could overrun the minority; unfairly so but the majority can get away with it, most mes. The case of 2018 is an exact opposite of what is happening now as minority - supported by aliens, brute force and incumbency - is trying to overrun the majority. Such movement will naturally crash. It is only a ma er of me. Only the unpopular and undemocra c shy away from and are terrified by people simply lining up behind a poster of their preferred candidates to be counted; and would then resort to force and demagoguery to obtain tainted result.

If two people are engaged in conversa on, if the one being lied to is oblivious of it, the one lying knows it for sure: eniyan meji ki padanu iro! One thing is crystal clear -at the end of the day, the wishes of the people will prevail because the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Osun DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarnaty Trust Bank (GTB), Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun.

All correspondence to the Deputy Editor, ISMAEEL UTHMAN, Telephone: 0805-121-2204, usmanismail001@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.

Website: www.osundefender.com Email: osundefenderbank@gmail.com, osundefemder@yahoo.com