Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State

Adejoke Adeleye, Abeokuta

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state has accused two chieftains of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief Segun Osoba of having a hand in what he described as the ‘fraudulent’ governorship primaries that produced Dapo Abiodun as the governorship candidate of the party for the state in the 2019 general elections.

The governor also declared that the two former governors of Lagos and Ogun states respectively are working with the former governor of Edo State and the National Chairman of the party,  Adams Oshiohmole, to ensure that Abiodun remains 2019 governorship candidate of APC, “having illegally concocted the fake governorship primary poll results presented to the National Working Committee of the party.”

It would be recalled that two governorship primaries were reportedly conducted in Ogun state during the last nationwide APC primaries for which two governorship candidates emerged. While the primary conducted by Ibikunle Amosun’s caucus of APC produced the much touted Yewa/Awori – Ogun west candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, that of Segun Osoba which was supervised by a team sent by the National Working Committee, NWC of the party saw Dapo Abiodun from Ijebu/Remo – Ogun east, emerging as the APC standard bearer for 2019 general elections.

Bringing up the allegations against the two party chieftains and the national of APC on Monday shortly after swearing-in of new chief judge of the state, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu at State Executive Chamber in Abeokuta, Governor Amosun affirmed that the silence of the duo on the whole political imbroglio translates to the alleged involvement of them in the electoral fraud.

The visibly aggrieved governor, who later challenged the two national leaders of APC to come out from their shells and rebut the allegations, asking them to be courageous enough and tackle him directly instead of hiding behind a finger.

“The President (President Muhammadu Buhari) already knows there was no election in Ogun state. He knows that they just went to Lagos, write all results, and what they did is fraud. If the National Working Committee or the National Chairman said there was any election in Ogun state, it was all fraud. That is what I said.

“Mr President already knows, there was no election in Ogun state, other than the one (that of his caucus) we held. The issue of Chief Osoba and Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) and Co, what we said was that there was an indefinite silence from their end, and silence means consent. You can record me (telling the journalists that were present) and publish out in your newspapers.

“We have not heard one word from any of them. Was there any election in Ogun State? Yes or No? They should come out and those that are hiding behind one finger, they cannot come out? People at this level should be courageous enough to take position, to come out, to come and tell us whether there was election.

“On Governorship, they (Osoba’s caucus) said they did it or not. The one that we had, there was live telecast, people even witnessed it and how come they are changing that again.

“They (through alleged connivance of the two APC chieftains) removed Leke Adewolu, Commissioner for Special Duties who now vies for Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency in the Federal Houses of Representatives and Mikail Kazeem, the incumbent House of Representatives member, representing Abeokuta North/Odeda/Obafemi-Owode Federal Constituency. All of those ones are nothing, but fraud”, the governor alleged.