Osun Election: Omisore Accepts Defeat

Senator Iyiola Omisore

Aregbesola gets certificate of return
Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo with agency report

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyiola Omisore, has conceded defeat to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was declared winner of last Saturday’s election  in Osun State.

Reflecting on the outcome of the election through his media aide, Mr. Diran Odeyemi,  the PDP governorship candidate said: “We would not be deterred  because of the development.  What we lost is the Osun State governorship election; we did not lose lives. We thank the Lord for everything.

“In all situations, I will continue to give glory to the Lord because He knows better than  us and He alone has answers to all questions.”

Omisore, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), also congratulated the people of Osun State and expressed his commitment to his party and the state.

“Falling down is not new in politics, rising up is the strength of a good leader. We shall bounce back. Congratulations to the people of Osun State because we all  won,” he added.
Omisore, however, declined to congratulate  Aregbesola.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday presented the certificate of return to Aregbesola.
The ceremony which took place at the INEC office in Osogbo   was attended by the Heads of security agencies in the state, traditional rulers, representatives of political parties and well wishers.

Presenting the certificate to the governor-elect and incumbent governor, the INEC National Commissioner deployed to supervise the election, Muhammad Wali, said the presentation was in accordance with the 2010 Electoral Act as amended, which stipulates that certificate of return should be given to any governor-elect within seven days of the election.

In his acceptance speech, Aregbesola, who dedicated the certificate to the people of the state for their commitment, sacrifice and support before and during the election, vowed not to relent in his efforts at developing the state.
He enjoined officials of the commission to be extra vigilant in securing election materials used for the August 9 governorship poll so as not to be tampered with.

While congratulating all other contestants in the governorship race, Aregbesola enjoined them to support his administration towards advancing the interest of the state.

Earlier in a welcome address, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, appreciated the cooperation of all stakeholders and promised that  INEC would continue to create a level-playing field for all the political parties, especially as the 2015 general election approaches.
However, the  state chapter of the APC has told Omisore that he was not sincere about the result of the election and how he suffered a humiliating defeat.

Omisore was reported to have said his defeat was due to the damage done to him and his party by Ambassador Rufus Akeju, a former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state.

Omisore in his post-election statement had noted: ‘’We had a situation where a clearly partisan REC had opened the entire electoral system to our opponent from registration stage through data storage to personnel loading. Before he left, he already did a lot of harm in the system that would take years to rectify’.”

But the APC spokesman Kunle Oyatomi said: “To accuse INEC and Akeju especially is the hallmark of a man in delusional stupor. It means he has not been able to climb down from his high horse of living a lie.”
The APC spokesman stressed that Omisore lost fair and square because the people rejected him for his notoriety as an individual disposed to violence.

Oyatomi also noted that he Omisore  offered nothing to the people except to promise the destruction of everything the people were enjoying from Aregbesola’s administration, saying he presented himself to the people as a destroyer, not a builder and in the process he instilled fears in the heart of Osun people.

  He alleged that “in spite of all the security apparatus of the Nigerian state put at his disposal and that of the PDP in Osun by President Goodluck Jonathan; and in spite of all the terrorist marksmen from Bayelsa State brought to Osun by Mujajid Dokubo-Asari and Tompolo; and the army of thugs within the state available to Omisore and the PDP, they could neither persuade, nor intimidate the good people of Osun to vote for them to win.”

Oyatomi further stressed that he hoped the committee Omisore  set up to find out why he lost the election will detect the fraud and the lie in which they had lived, deluding themselves that Aregbesola was ‘unpopular’ in the state.
He pointed out that Omisore himself knew at that critical moment he was about to cast his vote that the odds were against him.JOIN OLAMIDE HERE AND WATCH ALL IS NEW VIDEO FREE