Some people suspected to be supporters of Senator Ademola Adeleke have accused a former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, of allegedly working against the governorship ambition of their candidate.
In a video of an incident involving Oyinlola and Adeleke’s supporters obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, some supporters of Adeleke were seen around the former governor, shouting that he should steer clear of the state Peoples Democratic Party governorship contest.
Oyinlola, who was walking through a lobby of a place that looks like a hotel, was guided by some security men, as the party members kept shouting that Adeleke remains their preferred candidate for the governorship poll.
Efforts made to get Oyinlola’s comment on the incident did not yield result on Sunday, but a source close to him, who did not want his name in print, said the video was recorded in a hotel in Osogbo when the former governor was invited to a meeting with a committee sent by the PDP national secretariat to conduct ward congress for the party.
Meanwhile, members of PDP in Odo Otin Local Government Area of the state on Sunday in Okuku protested the alleged attack on Oyinlola by Adeleke’s supporters in Okuku.
The protesters, wielding placards with inscriptions such as ‘PDP Odo Otin says not to impunity and arrogance of Adeleke’s family’ and ‘Adeleke, stop intimidating our son,’ among others threatened to work against Adeleke during the party’s ward congress.
Addressing the protesters, a former member of the House of Assembly, Mr Lekan Oyediran, alleged that a faction of the party supported by Adeleke was responsible for the attack.
He said, “Our leader was attacked in Osogbo while visiting the committee sent by the national headquarters. By the time he was about to drive in there, a faction of the PDP led by Adeleke sponsored an attack on him.
“If not because of the quick intervention of security agents, only God knows what would have happened. Oyinlola is a person that has respect for elders, that is why they asked us to allow peace.
“Nobody has a monopoly of violence. The National Working Committee must be unbiased. Our elders must be respected. Senator Ayu should not follow the step of Secondus.”
When contacted for reaction, Adeleke, who spoke through one of his associates, Diran Odeyemi, appealed to members of the PDP in Odo Otin not to further escalate the matter.
“Senator Adeleke personally met ex-Governor Oyinlola and the matter was raised. As an elder, he took the incident as a sacrifice he must make for the party. I appeal to our members in Odo Otin not to further escalate the matter,” he said.
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