Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has clarified that the alliance for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu is strictly for the presidential election and will not extend to legislative contests, allowing participating parties to support their respective candidates for the National Assembly and Osun State House of Assembly elections.
Adeleke made the clarification while inaugurating the Osun State Presidential Campaign Council for Tinubu’s re-election.
The governor also declared that the coalition aims to deliver more than 1.5 million votes for the president in the forthcoming election.
The inauguration of the council on Thursday brought together political leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Accord and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Addressing members of the council, the governor expressed confidence in the coalition’s capacity to secure a strong electoral victory for the president, describing the alliance as a combination of political structures across the state.
“Our coalition is solely about Mr President, a man who means so much to Osun State and Nigeria. Our alliance is about the presidential election, in which we have all agreed to support the re-election of President Tinubu.
“In this hall is a gathering of who is who in the Osun political terrain. We have all the strikers, the defenders and the midfielders.
“This rainbow coalition of Accord, APC and PDP structures is superbly potent to deliver Osun overwhelmingly to Mr President,” he said.
Adeleke explained that members of the coalition remained free to pursue their parties’ interests in legislative elections, stressing that the presidential arrangement did not prevent them from supporting different candidates for other elective positions.
“As coalition partners on the presidential election, we must remind ourselves that the partnership does not extend to the legislative elections. Members could work for their respective party candidates in senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly elections,” he said.
The governor also disclosed that discussions between the federal government and the Osun State Government over the state’s local government crisis had reached an advanced stage, expressing hope for a resolution.
“Discussion has reached an advanced stage. Our dear state should expect good news very soon,” Adeleke said.
He urged political leaders and supporters across the state to unite behind Tinubu, saying cooperation was necessary to advance the interests of the Yoruba people and Nigeria.
“From the pain of the past, we must unite for the prosperity of the future. From unity in diversity, we must forge a new brotherhood behind our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu,” he added.
The APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said the campaign for Tinubu’s second term had been placed under the leadership and coordination of Governor Adeleke.
He urged political stakeholders in the state to respect the president’s decision and support Adeleke, regardless of their political ambitions.
“Irrespective of our feelings, irrespective of our ambition, irrespective of our scheming, we must abide by the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support Governor Ademola Adeleke,” he said.
He also called for support for Tinubu’s re-election, attributing improved financial capacity among state governments to the president’s economic reforms.
He recalled that, during his tenure as a commissioner, the state relied on loans and overdrafts to pay salaries and accessed the capital market to finance development projects.
He cited student support schemes, road construction and a reported decline in inflation as reasons to sustain the administration’s policies.
The former commissioner appealed to Osun residents and political leaders to work with Adeleke to secure victory for Tinubu, irrespective of party affiliation.
He said, “I want to plead with all of us in Osun State to come together, work together with our governor, irrespective of our political party, and support him to deliver a massive victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Meanwhile, former Osun State governor and pioneer APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and former APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, called for unity among political stakeholders to ensure Tinubu’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election.
They urged party members to work with Adeleke in pursuing the coalition’s objective.
Our alliance is strictly for presidential election – Gov Adeleke