A human rights activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, has called on the immediate past Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, and his teeming supporters led by the current Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Timothy Owoeye, to jettison their dreams of coming back to power in the state in the next four years.

The rights activist was reacting to a recent insinuation of Oyetola and Owoeye that they would stage a comeback to power in the state through the backdoor after losing the July 16, 2022 governorship election to Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke.

In a statement by Comrade Sulaiman, which was made available to News Express on Tuesday, Tuesday, January 10, 2023, he told both state leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) “to stop their evil dream of coming back to governance of the state for the period Ademola Adeleke’s administration would hold sway”.

Sulaiman, who is the Executive Chairman of Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), urged them to accept their loss at the July 16, 2022 governorship election in good faith and prepare for the 2026 Governorship election in Osun State.

“Thinking of manipulating the electoral and judicial process if the Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the Presidential election to stage comeback to power through the back door cannot be fruitful for Gboyega Oyetola because the law in respect of Electoral Act 2022 has settled everything and no President can manipulate such electoral process again.

“Nigeria is not a banana republic where law would be made to satisfy the whims and caprices of Gboyega Oyetola and Bola Tinubu. For instance, all the opposition Governors the Courts ruled in their favour that led to the conduct of staggering Governorship elections in the country today were during the period of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidency and heaven did not fall,” the CHRSJ boss said.

Sulaiman emphatically stated that “the good people of Osun State” had given four years mandate to Governor Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke on July 16, 2022 to govern the state “and God has stamped the mandate on 27 of November, 2022”, adding that “no living mortal could change it because the voice of the people is the voice of God”.

Speaking on the ongoing Osun Election Petition Tribunal, the pro-democracy activist noted that the Election Tribunal was not set up to favour any party but to deal with post-election issues. He added that the issues before the Election Petition Tribunal in respect of the July 16, 2022, governorship election in Osun State were very clear and the error of over voting in alleged six Polling Units would affect all the political parties that participated in the said election.

Sulaiman further declared that Governor Adeleke has started the governance of the state in a good direction to uncover all the alleged evil deeds of Oyetola’s administration that might retard the progress of Osun State.

He said that Oyetola and his supporters should be applauding Governor Adeleke for his humble beginning and laying the foundation for good governance in the state “and forget about their wishful thinking of coming to power through the backdoor to continue their evil actions”.

He therefore advised the immediate past governor and his co-travelers to learn how to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship in elections by always accepting the outcome in good faith, adding that Oyetola should emulate Senator Ademola Adeleke who, he said accepted the outcome of the “manipulated 2018 governorship election” in his (Oyetola) favour.

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