11th August, 2014
By Omotoyosi Saromi and Olajumoke Olaleye
Secretary
Lai Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary, All Progressive Congress (APC) has described the just concluded gubernatorial election in Osun state as a ‘theater of war’.
Mohammed who was arrested and detained by masked security operatives in Osogbo, the state capital on the eve of the election held on 9 August said he was unshaken by the motive of the security operatives because he was optimistic of his party’s chances at the poll.
At a stakeholders’ meeting held on Wednesday 6 August, Mohammed said they educated their agents on how the ballot paper should be filled, adding that, those who registered were the ones to vote.
“I trust that everything was going to be fine and that we were going to win because they were very prepared and also because the party had already educated their supporters on how to use the ballot paper,” he said.
He noted that APC leaders who were in Osun for the election were defiant in the face of danger. “Before the election, military men arrested APC leaders in the state but they said they were not afraid of being arrested. The action of the military did not pull them down but rather it motivated them to their victory.
To get the people’s opinion about the election, Mohammed said he had to disguise. “I disguised to meet people and hear their opinion about the election and I knew our party was going to win. If the Osun state election had come first we could had lost.”
He asserted that APC won the election in Osun despite the religious propaganda of the opposition because Rauf Aregbesola was a credible candidate. “The election in Osun was won not because of the politics hinged on religion or ethics but because of Aregbesola’s leadership qualities.”