Group asks Adeleke to pull out of Osun governorship race overcertificate scandal
An Osun state based social-political group, the Renewal Youth Movement (RYM) has called on the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ademola Adeleke to immediately withdraw from the 2018 Osun governorship race following his involvement in the ongoing certificate scandal.
Already, the State High Court sitting in Osogbo has adjourned for definite hearing till Monday, August 6, a case instituted by two members of Adeleke’s party, Olatunji Olabayo and Oluwasegun Idowu against his candidature as the governorship candidate of PDP.
The group in a statement signed by two of its leaders, Muftau Adegoke Rasheed Adegbenro and made available to journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, August 5 chided the leadership of the PDP for screening and clearing Adeleke to contest that party’s primary despite the glaring discrepancies discovered in his certificates.
“If PDP leaders are sincere; if they are not corrupt and if they want the good of all, Senator Adeleke ought not to have scaled through the party’s screening process in the first instance. Those who conducted the screening should also be investigated. They cannot be naïve not to know genuine documents from fake. We don’t want to believe that their palms have been greased
“What is going on in the state is not only an open sore to the Adeleke’s dynasty that has shown great interest in education to the extent of establishing a private university but it a shame to the entire Osun State citizens that a serving senator who wants to govern them can be enmeshed in such a mess.
“Nothing is hidden again about Senator Adeleke’s certificate scandal following the display by INEC of credentials of all the governorship candidates and their deputies. The only saving grace is for the man in question to honourably step aside by allowing a more competent person to contest the election under the PDP platform.
“Already, some people are in the police net including the principal of Muslim Grammar School, Ede over the alleged certificate forgery. We feel that the forthcoming election should be a robust exercise where indigenes would have opportunity to elect a competent candidate as the governor among many.
“Adeleke’s certificate mess has shot the PDP in the leg and has put the party in a very tight and difficult situation. Our group is of the firm opinion that the PDP has lost the election before the contest and even if the party wins, such victory will definitely be short-lived as co-contestants from other political parties by now must have prepared grounds for the Tribunal”, the group stated.
According to RYM, going by Section 31 sub-sections 1 – 8 of the Electoral Act, it would be so difficult for Senator Adeleke to run in the September 22 governorship election with the ongoing cases instituted against him and if he refused to step down early, PDP may not present anyone for the said election.
They called on the new National leader of the PDP, Senator Bukola Saraki to prevail on Senator Adeleke to step down and ensure that a competent individual is brought as his replacement without delay, arguing that it would be disastrous if the first major election after the re-joining of PDP by his group is lost by his party.