The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressive Congress (APC) have continued to trade words over the appeal filed by the ruling APC to challenge the judgement of the tribunal that declared Senator Ademola Adeleke of PDP as the winner of Osun governorship election.
Reacting to the statement credited to the Director of Media and Publicity of APC, Bar Kunle Oyatomi, who was alleged to have referred to PDP as violent party, the state Chairman of the PDP, Mr Soji Adagunodo, described the statement as “a disgrace to APC.
“We wish to state categorically that the ruling party is jittery, confused and afraid of the imminent loss of power in no distant future in the state.
“For Oyatomi and APC to have referred to the opposition political party as violent is a disgrace to him and his party because violence is the symbol of the APC right from inception.
“It is unfortunate that a ruling political Party could be careless enough to the extent of threatening to descend on members of the opposition party who resorted to legal means and not violence to resolve the political logjam in the state.
“Rather than employing the constitutional means of making their defense in the court, APC has been boasting about, promising their scanty followers in Osun that they would use the law enforcement agencies. Are these agencies under APC control?
“APC was the political party that disrupted the electoral process with violence but now turns around, accusing the victims of having penchant for violence even when perpetrators of the violence have been caught on camera in the Government House gloating over it?
“On the issue of protest, it is on record that it was the civil society group that first raised the alarm, they came up with a position paper with the signature of conveners boldly written and published by many media houses. More than four out of the five names mentioned in the civil society’s petition tallied and now this has been twisted to become PDP matter by Oyatomi which further exposed their antics and tradition of living on lies.
“We want to state unequivocally that it was based on this background information that the PDP decided to raise the alarm, which now appears well founded, when four names of the Justices came up as a members of the Appeal Panel.
“One wonders if the judge in question is a member of the APC. If defending members of the Judiciary is the basis for Oyatomi’s recent statement, one wonders why the APC sponsored and staged a week long protests against the judgement delivered by respected members of the same Judiciary. Or is there a nexus between the aborted surreptitious plan to bring the respected judge, whose name the APC now wants to drag in the mud and his planned installation as Osun State Chief Judge?
“Osun State will not forget in a hurry, the violent entry of the candidate of the main opposition party, the Action Congress, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola into Osun State in 2005 under a brand name *ORANMIYAN* movement with his political party named Action Congress.
“Throughout the three and a half years of the legal battle to reclaim his mandate, APC (ACN Then ) displayed total penchant for violence and departure from peaceful resolution of dispute. The full nature of violent tradition of the ACN and its candidate was unabated for eight years.
“I want to put it straight to Mr. Oyatomi that the peace being enjoyed in Osun State today is not unconnected with the peaceful tradition of the main opposition party, the PDP.
“It should be noted that if the PDP or its candidate have the same culture of violence like APC, Osun State would have gone into flames on September 22nd, 2018 when PDP was bracingly robbed by the state returning officer, Prof. Fuwape, who turned himself to emergency ‘presiding officer’, cancelling results arbitrarily, an action that was capable enough to ignite violence in the state but for the intervention of the top hierarchy of PDP led by the State Chairman, Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo and the candidate, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke once again took it upon themselves to ensure that peace reigned supreme by quickly organizing a press conference to calm down tension, assuring the citizens with soothing words that the stolen mandate would be restored peacefully through all available legal means.
“Osun state PDP will not condone any act that is capable of inciting violence through reckless unguided and indiscriminate statements that are inimical to the peace that PDP has allowed Oyatomi and his political party’s sojourners to enjoy in our dear state for eight unbroken years.
APC spokesman was quoted to have said, “Politics conducted on the platform of lies, defamation and violence, which are the trademark of the PDP, is antithetical to the progress all civilized communities in the world seek.
“Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the good people of Osun will do everything lawful within their powers, and in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies to curb PDP’s excesses and preserve civilized political engagement within Osun”, the APC concluded.
