The incumbent governor of Osun state, Ademola Adeleke is ingeniously consolidating his grip on Osun political terrain at a time opposition parties are gripped in combustible, self-destructive struggles, investigation by our team has revealed.
In the last two weeks alone, the two main opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the African Democratic Congress(ADC) have been engulfed in splitting internal battles which has weakened its structures across the state. The two main opposition parties are electorally weak going by current political status quo.
For the APC, Iyiola Omisore who has been so loud mouthed in his criticism of Governor Adeleke has just been axed by his own party alongside others even before party primaries. The APC internal feud has diminished its electoral potency far below its rating before the 2022 election.
For the ADC, the exit of Moshood Adeoti and his romance with the Adeleke caucus have eroded whatever myth of invisibility the ADC may be parroting. Insiders noted that the rumpus rattled the ADC to its root.
For the PDP, the guber primary held at the state level has multiple legal handicaps alongside the image and antecedents of the eventual winner of the kangaroo Congress.
Checks revealed that Adeleke strengthened his grip on Osun political space through six strategic steps and actions in the last few months as follows:
1.Strong Good Governance Delivery: The administration defied all odds by pushing ahead with the lead execution of critical capital projects despite federal shutting down of funding sources. It was gathered that the governor had only governed freely for two full years while the last one year has been under intense federal and opposition destabilising onslaught. Yet, workers welfare and project execution are sustained. This tenacity has increased the governor’s popularity in towns and cities where those key projects are located namely Ilesa, Ile Ife, Ila Orangun, Ikirun, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo among others. The workers at all levels are even more uncompromising in their support for the incumbent;
2.Smart Exit from PDP: The governor’s smart exit from the PDP was a political master stroke as many observers had assumed the conclusion of his political eclipse based on the known plot within the PDP. Adeleke not only resigned long before the Makinde primary at Osogbo but also ensured the state PDP refused participation at the perceived kangaroo event. It was so bad for the Makinde gang that it had to import Oyo PDP members for the Osun show. The announcement of the resignation on the eve of the primary outsmarted the Governor’s enemies and saved him from legal impediment.
- New Party Option: Another area the governor is deepening his grip was his capacity to act without being heard or seen. As in Osun, the governor has decided on a new platform as though no decision has been taken. He acted on matters of the next month, last month thereby throwing political opponents into confusion. The uncanny thing is that while the opposition keep doing guess work, the foot soldiers across the state are already in the field implementing the unannounced directive of the governor.
- Insistence on Rule of Law: The governor’s smart decision to toe the path of rule of law instead of violence has a reverberating positive effect among the voting public. Most residents seem pleased that the governor has avoided being provoked to violence at each point of alleged opposition desperation, choosing instead to resort to the legal process, an option that has won many medals for the governor. His handling of the local government saved the state the possibility of a state of emergency and resulted in the Supreme Court recognition of Osun validly elected council chiefs. He sustained his grassroot structures which would have been dismantled if he had confronted the opposition force for force. Checks showed the public are delighted at his peaceful, legal bases approach to handling of political matters;
- Impotency of Defectors: An intriguing area of surprise in the state is how the governor overcame the revolt and defection of some federal lawmakers which included two senators and three House of Representatives members. Analysts had predicted the end of the Governor’s political future. Months later, the defectors seem to have gone into political oblivion, deeply hated by their people, denied return tickets by the APC and largely politically paralysed except occasional political struggles. The popularity rating of the governor has tripled while those of the defectors have nosedived more than four fold since their defections.
- Cordiality with Federal Forces: Despite continuous disruptive actions and his being blocked from joining APC by local APC forces, the governor had remained undaunted in his maintenance of cordial relationship and brotherhood with the Presidency, federal establishment and key figures on the national scene. Most leaders at the national level have surprisingly favourable views of the governor with many around the Presidency lamenting his being blocked from the APC after he was invited by Mr President. Others are intrigued by his sticking to his support for Mr President despite what many see as an unfair treatment by the Federal Government.This reality disarms even the worst of plots and enhances the governor’s influence even in territories many never envisaged.
