Oluremi Omowaiye: Adeleke Can’t Defeat Me Not To Talk Of Defeating Oyetola

1 year ago

Oluremi Omowaiye: Adeleke Can’t Defeat Me Not To Talk Of Defeating Oyetola

Osun State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Engr, Oluremi Omowaiye on Wednesday said Senator Ademola Adeleke, the former governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state cannot defeat him in any election, not to talk of defeating Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

Adeleke who left Nigeria shortly after the last election to pursue higher educational qualifications in the United States returned to the state last week where he declared interest in the Osun 2022 governorship election. He also asked Governor Oyetola to start preparing his handover notes.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Independent, Omowaiye said Adeleke and his supporters are daydreaming if they believe that what happened in the 2018 governorship election, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) had a tough time in defeating the PDP will repeat itself again.

According to him, the APC went through a tough time in the 2018 governorship election due to the problems and disenchantment with the people which had piled up as far back as 2015.

He said “Ademola (Adeleke) cannot defeat me in any election not to talk of Governor Oyetola. If I run with him today, he cannot defeat me. What happened in the 2018 governorship election was a build-up to the challenge our party had. In 2015, we lost two House of Reps seats. In Osun East senatorial district, we lost two House of Reps seats”.

“In December 2015, a House of Assembly member died who represented Ife Central State constituency, Oladejo Makinde died. We had a rerun in 2016 and our party, APC came third. In 2017, when the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke died, we held an election in Osun West senatorial district and we lost 9 out of 10 local governments. So, we shouldn’t have expected any magic in the 2018 governorship election”.

“Don’t also forget that there were a lot of crises in the state which built up till the governorship election in 2018. We had issues of salary modulated payment, religious crisis when students were wearing cassocks, Muslim regalia and masquerade outfits to school. We were also having a regular crisis with the organised labour in the state”.

“This is Oyetola’s third year in government and there has not been a single labour crisis. In fact, during the last May Day rally, the workers endorsed the governor for a second term”.

“That is one of the ways to gauge a government that is loved by the people. There has not been single unrest in the state, except the #EndSARS protest which was a national issue. Then, people were angry because of a lot of things and we sincerely looked at the issues and addressed them. Where we needed to make adjustments, we did that”.

“As at when I came in as Commissioner for Works, there was no single township road that was good in the entire Osun West. Today, we have fixed Gbogan Township road; Ido Osun Township road; we have done parts of the road in Ede. We are doing Iwo. We have collaborated with the federal government to fix the Osogbo-Iwo road.

“We have done Ejigbo to Ede and as I speak to you, we are doing a 3.8 kilometres Ejigbo township road which will be commissioned very soon”.

“Today, Osun is among the few states paying minimum wage. We have paid a lot of outstanding pensions and gratuities. In Ilesha where I hailed from, the biggest market called Atakumosa market got burnt in 2015. Again, part of it got burnt in 2018. We could not repair it from 2015 till 2020 that we embarked upon the repair”.

“Today, we have finished the first phase of modernising the market. As I speak, the second phase is going to start this week. We have restored back school uniforms and names of schools. So, the people are happy with this administration and therefore, it is not possible for the candidate of any party to defeat Governor Oyetola”.

“Ademola Adeleke is not even a candidate of PDP yet and they might not even give him the ticket. But even if they give him the ticket, he cannot defeat me. How will he defeat me, let alone defeat Governor Oyetola, a governor who has performed creditably well, even to the admiration of the opposition without making noise?”.