Kola Olabisi, the Media Adviser to Osun APC chairman, Gboyega Famoodun, shares his thoughts with BOLA BAMIGBOLA, on the allegation of destroying PDP billboards, insisting that those behind the act are not APC members.
PDP accused your party of defacing Senator Ademola Adeleke’s campaign billboards. What is your reaction?
The allegation of the Peoples Democratic Party that the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress is responsible for the defacing of its billboards is misplaced, wicked, untrue, unfounded and without any iota of fact to substantiate same. The allegation defies logic. Why would the APC handlers resort to violence when the party is busy with all the constitutional means to ensure the re-election project of Governor Gboyega Oyetola? Those who know the governor who is the governorship candidate of our party can attest to the fact that the Iragbiji-born politician is a complete gentleman who can hardly hurt a fly.
Oyetola is a man of peace per excellence. Ask those who are making the unfounded allegation of defacing their billboards by our party to look inward for the likely culprits. Have you ever been told that as I speak, the PDP is factionalised in Osun State? Ask the accusers what happened to their billboards and some of their branded vehicles immediately after their House of Assembly and National Assembly primary elections in Ejigbo, Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State and other parts of the state when some dissatisfied members of the PDP were removing and tearing the PDP billboards and forcefully and furiously removing their party’s insignia as a form of protest in the full glare of the people which even went viral some time ago? Don’t dignify the reckless factionalised PDP with attention in this regard as they are all out to be in the news for a negative reason.
How did you come to conclusion that APC members were not behind the defaced billboards?
The Osun State chapter of the APC is known to be a disciplined party where orderliness and rule of law are our attributes. We don’t engage in violence. Have you ever heard of where Governor Oyetola threatened violence against anybody or the opposition despite the fact that he is the sitting governor? No, he won’t do that. He abhors violence. Oyetola is a man of peace and he preaches and acts it. It is Senator Ademola Adeleke, the controversial PDP candidate in Osun State, who is fond of threatening ‘fire-for-fire’ at his party’s campaigns while Oyetola is fond of saying that “we shall vote and we shall win. We wouldn’t resort to violence no matter the intensity of provocation from any quarters”. Why would Governor Oyetola engage in violence when as the sitting governor, he is the one who would not want any cataclysm in his domain? The state APC chairman too, Prince Gboyega Famodun, is another gentleman who would not have anything to do with violence. Violence is not in the dictionary of the Osun State Government and that of the ruling party.
Did you observe that many campaign billboards of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola have also been defaced? Who were responsible for that?
I observed that some of our party’s billboards in Osogbo, the state capital, and some parts of other towns have either been defaced or destroyed of recent. Whom do we blame for that? The suspects cannot be hidden as they are desperate to do anything untoward as a sign of protest and agitation for the imminent failure that is staring them at the polls come July 16, 2022. I am confident that Governor Oyetola would be re-elected with a very wide margin as he has been doing the bidding of the people of the state. The PDP has a limited stake in Osun State and that’s why they resort to avoidable and needless violence against the ruling party. All I know is that the ever-vigilant security officers in the state will close in on the evil perpetrators in the name of politics which ideally should be played without rancour, bickering and bitterness.
Have you reported this to the police?
The police are in the know of the anti-social and inhuman activities of those hiding in the dark to destroy property and cause unnecessary confusion.
As the election draws nearer, do you think violence may mar the poll?
I do not have any reason to contemplate or believe that violence would mar the governorship election in Osun State, as the man at the apex of the administration is not only a man of peace but he also has the capacity and ability provided by the nation’s constitution to nip in the bud any plan or efforts of any disgruntled politician to promote and cause crisis in any part of the state through the instrumentality of the law. Governor Oyetola has a bigger stake in Osun State and he will do everything possible to maintain the sustainability of peace in the state before, during and after the governorship election. Don’t forget that Osun State is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria.
What other measure will you suggest to the stakeholders in the state to avert violence before and during the poll?
I will enjoin our members and supporters to continue to be law-abiding and refuse to be provoked by those whose vision and mission is to be unrepentant agents of violence. We should be aware of the fact that we are the ones putting on the proverbial white attire, who should always resist any attempt to get it stained by any political desperado.
What message do you have for members of your party towards a peaceful poll?
The members of our party should continue to sell our governorship candidate, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, to the electorate as a tested, reliable, hardworking, easy-going, educated, humane, exposed, selfless and a financial wizard who has been squeezing water from the stone to get Osun State going despite the paucity of funds. They should tell it loud to the people that he (Oyetola) will continue the transformation of the nooks and crannies of the state. They should also tell them that there’s no credible alternative to the APC administration in the state.