Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State on Tuesday urged the people of the state against voting for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
Oyinlola, who publicly declared for the All Progressives Congress at the mega rally of the party held at the Osogbo Township Stadium, on Tuesday, accused Omisore of being selfish.
He urged the people of the state to vote for Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who incidentally, was the one who unseated him from office after a marathon legal battle which lasted over three-and-a-half years.
The former National Secretary of the PDP, who spoke in Yoruba language, said that his former party was not fair to the Yoruba people, saying there was no Yoruba person occupying any of the top 20 political offices in the country.
Oyinlola alleged that he was badly treated by the PDP which, he said he was very loyal to.
Oyinlola said, “The candidate of their party is selfish. I don’t know how Bola Ige was killed. Although Omisore was accused of killing Bola Ige, God knows who was responsible for the killing.
“Let us look at this; he (Omisore) picked Prof. Wale Oladipo, who was in the prison with him (over Bola Ige’s case) to replace me as the National Secretary of the PDP. He nominated Jelili Adesiyan who was also with him at Agodi Prison as a minister and he installed Gani Olaoluwa, who was also with them at the prison as the PDP chairman in the state.
“Does it mean that we cannot hold public office except we are former prisoners? The running mate (Adejare Bello) is the only one different. The PDP is now empty; they pushed former Governor Isiaka Adeleke out, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade (Labour Party candidate) left them when he saw the way they were doing and I have also left them for the APC.”
Oyinlola added that Omisore had nothing good in stock for the people of the state while hailing the performance of Aregbesola who he urged the people to support.
But the Chairman of the PDP in Osun State, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa, in a statement issued to react to Oyinlola’s defection, wished him well in his new political party.
Olaoluwa said that the former governor required prayers as he started a political journey with the APC, which he described as a party of professional liars.
The PDP chairman said Oyinlola’s defection was beyond the ordinary while stating that the secret behind it would soon be blown open.
He said, “I am sure that his immediate and extended family members will even be disappointed. As a political party, the PDP in Osun has shock absorbers to contain such eventuality as we are always prepared legally, constitutionally and politically.”