The Special Adviser and Spokesperson to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, has said the governor’s victory in Saturday’s governorship election was not the product of any political agreement with President Bola Tinubu or the Federal Government.
Rasheed, who spoke on Arise TV on Tuesday, said Adeleke secured his re-election through the votes of Osun residents, despite what he described as a strong federal presence in the state before and during the election.
He was reacting to comments by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who had stated that “agreement is agreement” amid speculation that Adeleke’s endorsement of Tinubu’s re-election bid was tied to an understanding between both politicians.
Rasheed insisted that there was no agreement between Adeleke and Tinubu, stressing that the governor had made his position clear before the election.
“As to whether there was agreement or no agreement, Mr Governor has spoken about it in an interview just 24 hours ago. He said there was no agreement between him and the President. There was nothing like that,” he said.
According to him, Adeleke’s victory reflected the determination of Osun voters to exercise their democratic rights irrespective of the political forces allegedly deployed against him.
“In terms of how the election was done, you will agree that pre-election, and even during election, you felt the federal presence. We had over 20 governors here. We had one commissioner of police per local government. We had the deployment of the military. Osun was largely militarised,” Rasheed said.
He added that despite the circumstances, voters came out and supported the incumbent governor.
“But during election, people came out and defied all the odds and voted for Imole (Adeleke). The victory was hard won. The governor worked for it, Osun people battled for it, and what you had was the will of the people prevailing,” he said.
Rasheed further pointed to Adeleke’s performance in several local government areas where the governor’s party had not previously enjoyed strong support as evidence that the election reflected the choice of the electorate.
“The governor won in several local governments that we had never won before — Iwo, Ila, almost everywhere. That is to show that Osun people stood up for their right to vote and be voted for. It’s not about agreement,” he said.
The governor’s spokesperson also defended Adeleke’s decision to endorse Tinubu for another term in office, saying the endorsement was not a post-election arrangement.
According to him, Adeleke had declared his support for Tinubu before the governorship election and maintained the position after moving from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Accord Party.
“When Mr Governor was within the PDP, the endorsement was announced. When he crossed over to Accord, the endorsement was announced. So the endorsement predates this election victory,” Rasheed said.
He said Adeleke’s support for Tinubu was based largely on the need to secure greater federal attention and development for Osun State.
Rasheed said the governor had identified several reasons for supporting the President, including the completion of federal road projects and attracting more federal presence to the state.
“So the whole world, the political space is aware that Mr Governor has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the governor explained the reasons why he’s endorsing. He talks about developmental focus, the need to attract federal presence, the need to get most of the roads in Osun’s federal projects done, and the need to support a man that is on the seat that can do this for us,” he said.
He cited the Ilesa-Ibadan Road, Osogbo-Ibadan Road and Gbongan-Osogbo Road as examples of federal projects which, according to him, had benefited from the governor’s approach.
“And as a consequence of that endorsement, Ilesa-Ibadan Road is being worked on. We have Osogbo-Ibadan Road being awarded, the work has started. We have Gbongan to Osogbo already awarded, and so on,” he said.
Rasheed urged Osun residents not to view Adeleke’s endorsement of Tinubu as a betrayal, arguing that the governor’s decision was based on what he considered to be the best interests of the state.
“So, the governor is looking at backing the man on the seat for several reasons, and you know this predates our election victory. So, I will say people should not feel betrayed. Mr Governor is only doing the right thing that is in the best interest of Osun people,” he said.
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