Nigeria Daily News: Labour party raises the stake in Osun

Labour party raises the stake in Osun
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Staff  on 01/11/2012 19:10:00


BY GBENGA OLARINOYE
THE last governorship election in Ondo State in which the incumbent governor,
Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Labour Party, LP was declared the winner of the contest
by the has suddenly re-awakened the opposition in the Southwest region of the
country. It is a region where the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN has until now
held sway.
Of particular note now is the effort by the Labour Party to now spread its
tentacles into the neighbouring Osun State.
The Labour Party in Osun state has as its arrow head, Chief Bankole Afilaka who
is the chairman of the caretaker committee of the party. He was appointed
following the suspension of its embattled chairman, Comrade Rufus Oyatoro who
was accused of maladministration and anti party activities. Oyatoro’s travail
began following his acceptance to serve in the Osun Truth and Reconciliation
Commission TRC set up by governor Rauf Aregbesola on assumption of office in
2010.
Oyatoro was specifically accused of accepting reward to serve on the TRC.
Oyatoro has since promptly refuted the allegations. The National secretariat of
the Labour Party, however, ratified the suspension of the chairman.
But barely three days after the announcement of Mimiko as the winner of the Ondo
election, Chief Afilaka in a session with selected journalists asked President
Goodluck Jonathan, the State Security Service SSS, the Economic and Financial
Crime Commission EFCC and other security agencies in the country to properly
investigate the role allegedly played by Aregbesola in the Ondo governorship
election.
Afilaka said that the activities of Aregbesola in the last few weeks should be
investigated by the Federal Government if truly President Jonathan is the Chief
Security Officer of the country.
But  the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the ACN in the state,
Mr Kunle Oyatomi retorted “The Labour Party’s accusation against Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola would have been ignored but for the fact that it contains stupidly
wild allegations against the Governor which the party did not bother to
substantiate.”
“If the party thinks it has evidence of its wild allegations, we advise them
to go to court, but if they don’t have the courage to do that, then they are
advised to keep their mouths shut and stop polluting the air with foul language
of corruption which they cannot prove,” he added.
Afilaka alleged that Aregbesola abandoned government activities in the state
which he was elected to perform during the electioneering campaign of the ACN
Governorship candidate in Ondo state, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
He also challenged Aregbesola to explain to the people of the state how much he
spent to finance the governorship campaign of the ACN in Ondo State, alleging
that the governor committed huge amount of money to the Ondo state governorship
election.
He said “We hereby demand an open apology from Aregbesola for abandoning his
primary functions as the Governor of Osun state and concentrating on Ondo
state.”
“The LP in Osun state is now more than ever before , galvanized for victory in
all the future elections in the state. It is the only credible opposition party
in Osun state. To our credit since the victory of Mimiko in Ondo state there
have been influx of new members particularly from the ruling ACN into our party.
Aregbesola has mismanaged the resources of Osun state since his assumption of
office two years ago.”
“It is only in LP that there is no god fatherism and no economic slavery.
Mimiko who is a symbol of change has clearly demonstrated that you can win an
election fair and square without influence of money, without political thuggery
and with no god father supporting you.”
Afilaka also stated that governor Aregbesola as the chief security officer of
Osun state should not be seen to be fomenting trouble not only in the state but
in other states. “How can you spend such a colossal amount of money to pursue
a misadventure in Ondo state? President Goodluck and EFCC should probe him how
much he spent there, how can you use the state fund to fund insurgency if
Aregbesola is properly probed and investigated this will go a long way in
checking his excesses.”
He also claimed that the ACN had on several occasions invited the Labour Party
to come and join it in the administration of the state, “but we said no that
we do not want to fraternize with the ACN because we do not have confidence in
the present administration in the state and that is why we have been turning
down their invitations. We don’t want any political patronage, all we want is
that Osun must be free from god fatherism and economic slavery.”
Mimiko who enjoyed the support of Chief Afilaka in the last election was quoted
to have told his political admirers and supporters after his re-election to make
incursion into the Southwest politics particularly the neighbouring Ekiti and
Osun states and threatened to ensure that those two states are lost to Labour.
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