Rauf Aregbesola, minister of Interior and a former governor of Osun State, has described as a sham the gubernatorial primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that took place Saturday.
He urged his supporters to remain calm and not agitated, while he studies the reports of the election.
Aregbesola, who reportedly did not vote in the exercise, had supported a former Secretary to State Government, Moshood Adeoti against the incumbent and his successor, Gboyega Oyetola.
When Adeoti’s defeat in the election became clear, Aregbesola asked his supporters not to be downcast by the outcome, but to rather hold their heads high.
He commended them for demonstrating their loyalty and its democratic ideal by filing out to excercise their franchise.
Adeoti lost to Oyetola, who was solidly supported by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a national leader of the ruling party.
Observers believe that with the outcome of the primary election, Aregbesola, who lately declared war with Tinubu and Oyetola may have lost ground in the state, and may begin to lose influence henceforth as the power pendulum may have firmly been shifted to Oyetola.
Aregbesola who addressed his supporters through a statement by his media aide, Sola Fasure, asked them to remain calm while he studied the processes and outcome of the election.
The statement read:
On behalf of the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, I will like to thank you most sincerely for heeding the call earlier this morning to participate in our party’s governorship primary and conduct yourselves most peacefully. You adopted a non-violent posture, even in the face of sore provocation.
You have demonstrated your loyalty to the party and democratic ideals. You have comported yourselves as Omoluabi in the true essence.
We have received and continue to receive the reports of the shenanigans of the officials who conducted the sham of an election. We have been inundated with reports state-wide of how your names were expunged from the party’s voters register, which was not made available until this morning, contrary to the convention of making the list available to the candidates before the election.
We have heard of how party registration cards were being hawked this morning to the supporters of the state governor.
We have also received reports of how accreditation was not done at all in many wards and how people without the party identification just participated and queued behind the governor in many polling units.
We have received the report from our members and independent observers, how government officials and notable supporters of the governor officiated in the election, how votes were farcically counted in favour of the governor and how the votes recorded for him were more than the number of voters accredited ab initio in many units.
Read also: Osun APC guber candidate to emerge today amid horse-trading, rancour
We have heard of the absence of result sheets and other vital documents for recording results and vital data. We note also the absence of INEC officials in most wards, casting serious doubt on the credibility of the election.
We note with shame and much regret the consternation of local and international observers on what they regard as a travesty of an election.
I will urge you to maintain your cool and calm. Be not downcast, be not agitated. Hold your head high. We are still receiving and studying all these reports and will take a definitive position on them.
You are urged not to take laws into your hands. Please leave the rest to the Almighty God and let us explore all peaceful and legal means for addressing the matter in order to obtain justice.
Please remain committed to peace and the rule of law. Be unflinching in your commitment to the democratic ideals. Democracy is for the long haul. As you all know, we never tire and we never give up on the cause we believe in. Be rest assured that victory is ours.
