23rd September, 2018
Gbenro Adesina
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s Chief Returning Officer in Osun State, Joseph Fuwape, has announced that the rerun for Osun State Governorship election would hold next Thursday, September 27, 2018.
Fuwape fixed the date for the election after holding a meeting with the representatives of the concerned parties and they all agreed to the date.
Earlier on Sunday, the returning officer, who is the current Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, FUTA, Akure, declared the state governorship election inconclusive because the number of cancelled votes was higher than the margin between the two top contenders.
According to Fuwape, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secured a total vote of 254,698 with Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of All Progressive Congress, APC, coming second with 254,345 votes, a margin of 353 votes.
Apparently, the rerun election will be held between the candidates of PDP and APC. The election is expected to be held in Orolu, Ife North and South local governments and some units in Osogbo, where irregularities were recorded and their votes were cancelled.
Although, the candidate of Social Democratic Party, SDP, Senator Iyiola Omisore might have lost out in the state gubernatorial race, he will play a major role in determining who succeeds the outgoing governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Omisore’s relevance is hinged on the fact that his influence in two of the local government areas where the elections would be held could not be undermined in anyway. The two contenders would have to court Omisore in order to deliver the units where he has influence to either of them.
While Omisore may swing towards the PDP considering that Senator Adeleke’s running mate, Hon. Herbert Adeogun, a lawmaker representing Ife federal constituency, is from Ife in Osun East Senatorial district, there is also a possibility that he may decide to work with the APC candidate who he sees as an intellectual and a self-made man.
One major reasons Omisore will work for APC is to assure him that the interest of Ile-Ife will be well taken care of during the reign of the next government in the state and possibly, at the federal level. His own interest is also paramount. During the campaign, Omisore could not hide his disgust for Adeleke becoming a governor in the state considering his low educational status, which he considers undignifying for the people of Osun and the South West generally.