Sweet Revenge For Adeleke
In what many political speculators deem as four years too late, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Osun State governorship election held on Saturday.
Senator Ademola Adeleke, the PDP’s candidate floored the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola, who is the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the final results announced by the Returning Officer, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Adeleke garnered with 403,371 votes, beating Governor Oyetola of the APC, his closest contender who polled 375,027 votes.
Despite isolated incidents of vote-buying and violence, the process was largely peaceful in the 30 Local Government Areas of the state.
Read Also: Osun 2022: Davido Alleges Rejection Of Vote-Buying By Electorates, Coercion by APC
Many Nigerians will hope this herald a new dawn in our democracy due to the increased interest of the youth in the country’s electoral process.
Osinbajo’s Home Surgery
Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo underwent surgery for recurrent pain caused by a fracture in his leg at the Duchess International Hospital in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, earlier on Saturday.
A statement issued by his spokesman, Laolu Akande read;
The vice president was admitted to Duchess International Hospital, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, today on account of a fracture of his right femur (thigh bone), possibly related to a longstanding injury associated with a game of squash.
With the moribund state of the country’s health infrastructure, the decision to undergo such an operation in a Nigerian hospital — albeit expensive — is an inspiring move by the Vice President; if only Nigerians can say the same for our public hospitals.
NLC Solidarity Protest With ASUU
The National Labour Congress (NLC) has stated it will embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 in solidarity with the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU has been on strike for months over the failure of the federal government to honour an agreement on issues bordering on funding universities, as well as on salaries and allowances of lecturers.
In a letter dated July 15 and addressed to chairpersons of the NLC in the states, Ayuba Wabba, the congress’ national president, and Emmanuel Ugboaja, general secretary, said the protest is aimed at getting “our children back to school and support our unions in Nigeria’s public universities fighting for quality education”.
All stakeholders must ensure a holistic solution to the scourge of recurrent strikes by educational bodies which have crippled the sector while leading to a massive brain drain over the years.
Funke Akindele’s “20 Million Followers”
In what read like a poorly-scripted Nollywood movie, thespian-turned-politician, Funke Akindele, boasted about her numerical strength on social media, when quizzed about the chances of her party in the upcoming governorship elections in 2023.
Akindele is the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State.
She argued that apart from her followers on social media, so many people love her at the grassroots level in Lagos State.
Funke said;
I have the numbers, I have fans and followers and I’m true to myself.
I have more than 20m fans on social media and also at the grassroots level.
I have fans at the grassroots level outside Ikorodu ready to support me and I’m true to myself. What I’m coming in is to change the lives of Lagosians.
Someone needs to tell our resident actress (sorry, politician) that political campaigning is a more gruelling endeavour which requires connecting with actual, not virtual people.
Babachir Lawal’s Vociferous Opposition To APC
As arguments and counter-arguments rage over the decision of the ruling All Progressives Congress to pick a Muslim vice-presidential candidate, a former Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal, on Thursday described the decision as a direct attack on Christians in the country.
Lawal, who stated this in an interview on ARISE TV, said the arrangement would deepen the disunity among Nigerians.
He noted;
You will antagonise the Christian majority in this country. It’s a direct attack on them and even in your own zone because when it comes to religion, Nigerians take religion first.
Now, you jeopardize the whole of the Christians in the North, in the South-South, in the South-East.
While the sentiments of stakeholders over the decision of the APC to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket is valid, this should act as a fillip needed to vote out the ruling party– for those who harbour strong abhorrence to the mandate.
The other political parties presented combinations of various religious dispositions and it is time for the electorate to stop “majoring in the minor”.
