Osun guber: Adeleke clears the air on certificate saga

Ademola Adeleke

The lawmaker representing Osun West Senatorial District and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has provided fresh insight into the school certificate saga that made the headlines in the past few days.

Senator Adeleke who polled a total of 1,569 votes, seven more than the runner-up, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi who scored 1, 562 in last Saturday’s governorship primary election in Oshogbo, the Osun state capital, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that he is eminently qualified educationally for the office of the governor, describing his emergence as a product of a credible process devoid of fraud and manipulation.

Ogunbiyi had shortly after the exercise filed a suit before an Osogbo High Court challenging Adeleke’s eligibility for the poll, stressing that a document allegedly submitted by the lawmaker as evidence of his educational qualification up to school certificate level does not meet the basic qualification stipulated by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act.

But while addressing a press conference at the PDP secretariat Thursday, Director, Media and Public Affairs of the Senator Ademola Adeleke Campaign Organisation, Olawale Rasheed described the primary election as a keenly contested one and called on those who felt short-changed in the process to get behind Adeleke for the common good of the Osun State and the PDP.

On the controversy raised about the lawmaker’s qualification for the exalted office of the governor, Olawale tasked those not satisfied with the explanation thus far provided to feel free to approach the Secondary School attended by Adeleke for verification.

He said, “On the issue of school certificate, Section 177(c) of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 317 for interpretation on educational requirements for the office of the Governor are very clear and unambiguous. Senator Adeleke is eminently eligible and qualified to seek the office of a governor. The school, Ede Muslim High School (Formerly Ede Muslim Grammar school) he attended still exists in Ede, his hometown. We challenge those asking questions to go to the school and find out if he attended and finished at the school or not between 1976 and 1981.”

Olawale further noted on behalf of his principal that Ogunbiyi having exhausted the PDP’s internal conflict resolution mechanisms ought to have given peace a chance, stressing that the Governor Seriake Dickson Election Committee recounted the votes cast following request by Ogunbiyi, only for him to head to court after the committee pronounced Adeleke as winner of the poll.

“It is open to the public that the Osun PDP primary election was one of the most transparent in recent political history. The entire electoral activity was televised live and the counting was done in the open. The challenger requested for recount and this was done twice. No process can be more open than what the Governor Dickson election committee did in Osun last Saturday. It is thus very disheartening that the said aspirant relied on spurious allegations to smear the party, her officials and the chosen candidate.

“Electoral contests within a political party are governed by rules. The party as an organization has internal mechanisms for resolving disputes arising from party primaries. Aggrieved aspirants are entitled to raise issues but within the bounds of party rules and processes. Appeal can be lodged, and the party will decide. In the case of Osun state, the aggrieved aspirant appealed against the result of the primary election.

“The party’s appeal panel after due consideration and examination of the appeal, upheld the election of Senator Adeleke as the flag bearer of the party and subsequently forwarded his name officially as the party/s flag bearer to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,” he added.

Ademola called on party members especially those who participated in last Saturday’s governorship primaries to put the past behind them and forge a common front as a family to confront the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September electoral contest.