By YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State on Monday expressed appreciation to authorities of Ile-Ife for nominating a worthy running mate for the party’s 2023 gubernatorial flagbearer, Senator Ademola Adeleke. They expressed the appreciation during a special stakeholders meeting of the PDP which held at the party’s state secretariat in Osogbo.

During the meeting which was streamed live by a member, Familusi Oladele Isaiah, on his Facebook handle, a former National Secretary of PDP, Prof. Wale Oladipo, expressed profound gratitude to the authorities in Ife, for the nomination of Prince Kolawole Adegboyega Adewusi as the running mate to Senator Adeleke in the July 16, 2022 gubernatorial election in the state.

Oladipo made the appreciation while unveiling Kola Adewusi as the party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate held at the meeting, adding: “Contrary to what Kola Adewusi said earlier while making his remarks, I did not nominate you, nobody gave me the deputy governorship ticket, I am just the intermediary between the palace, Ife people and the Adeleke dynasty. The owners of Ife nominated you.”

Earlier in his acceptance speech, Prince Adewusi had thanked Prof. Wale for recommending and nominating him to Senator Adeleke, while promising not to betray Oladipo for the confidence and trust bestowed on him.

In his brief remarks at the programme, Senator Adeleke equally thanked the people of Ife and the authorities, adding: “I want to thank the source for supporting us.”

However, some who watched the live streaming said with Adewusi as the running mate, PDP was only presenting a Christian-Christian ticket as a ploy to mortgage and sideline the entire Muslim community in Osun as they had “never seen Ademola Adeleke in any picture or video where he’s praying in the mosque while there are many videos and pictorial evidences of him attending churches both in Nigeria and overseas.”

“With Kola Adewusi also a practicing Christian, what will be the fate of the 55 per cent of the Muslim community in Osun?” Alhaji Gafari Aderonmu, a public commentator, asked.

Update news