Four years after a coalition of Peoples Democratic Party chieftains helped propel him to power, Governor Ademola Adeleke is watching that same coalition crumble with just 72 hours to the polls. The defection of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, ex-Secretary to Osun State Government, Fatai Akinbade, and other party stalwarts to the All Progressives Congress has not only depleted the governor’s political war chest, but also handed the opposition a template eerily similar to the one that culminated in Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s victory in 2014, writes Ismail Omipidan.
Governor’s Home Front
Governor Ademola Adeleke has two wives. Both have been assigned offices. One is Igbo, the other is Yoruba. At the onset of the administration, both struggled to attend state functions. At some point, they were reportedly engaged in public altercations at official events. Sources say Yeye Dupe Sani, the governor’s elder sister, stepped in to mediate. The matter has since simmered.
While the state’s former First Lady, Hajia Kafayat Oyetola, and the wife of the APC candidate, Dr. Sekinat Oyebamiji, have been busy mobilising voters house-to-house, market-to-market and street-to-street, the governor’s wives were not seen doing same until Monday, August 10, when they led a protest in Osogbo, the state capital. They acquitted themselves well.
