Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the leader of the Senate and chairman of the National Assembly Southwest Caucus, has called on Bola Oyebamiji, the All Progressives Congress candidate for governor of Osun State, to congratulate Governor Ademola Adeleke on his reelection and provide helpful policy recommendations to assist his administration.
While examining the results of Saturday’s governorship election, Bamidele made the request in a statement that was made accessible to journalists in Abuja on Monday.
After receiving 511,067 votes, Adeleke was proclaimed the poll’s winner. Oyebamiji received 444,815 votes, while Najeem Salam, the candidate for the African Democratic Congress, received 17,180 votes.
The Senate Leader urged all candidates to accept the people’s decision, stating that the result showed the electorate’s dominance in a democracy.
Additionally, Bamidele emphasized that Adeleke had an obligation to bring the state together and make sure that partisanship did not dictate governance.
“In Osun, the majority’s decision confirms more than just Governor Adeleke’s reelection,” he stated. The elected candidate bears the same burden of winning. In order to fulfilll this obligation, he must devise well-defined post-election policies that will successfully bring the state’s citizens and indigenous people together regardless of political differences.
In the best interests of the state, he pled with the governor to show solidarity with his rivals and other political groups.
He stated, “Governor Adeleke must look beyond the political platform that nominated him for the contest and extend his hand of fellowship to other candidates and political parties with a view to building a resilient state that functions in the interests of all people regardless of their leanings in order to drive a truly inclusive governance.”
Bamidele explicitly asked Oyebamiji to get in touch with Adeleke, congratulate him, and offer suggestions for bettering the state’s government.
“On this premise, I strongly encourage our great party’s candidate, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, to get in touch with Governor Adeleke, congratulate him on his reelection, and constructively share with him innovative policy ideas that can help him serve the interests of our people much better,” he said.
Given Adeleke’s prior affiliation with the party and his purported support for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection, Bamidele contended that the APC should not view the result as an absolute defeat.
Given Governor Adeleke’s past as an APC member prior to his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, I believe the APC did not lose the election. Furthermore, Governor Adeleke’s reelection is a win for both ACCORD and the APC because he has consistently supported President Bola Tinubu’s reelection.
In addition, Bamidele praised the Independent National Electoral Commission for handling the election and stated that even though the APC and its candidate lost the race, they were still involved in Osun State’s growth.
