The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) South West Caucus in the Senate declared Wednesday that the party better positioned to win the gubernatorial election taking place in Osun State this Saturday.

Two leading contenders in the election are the incumbent governor , Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party and the candidate of APC , Mr Bola Oyebamiji .

The South West Caucus in a statement signed by its leader , Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele ( Ekiti Central),  appealed to all contestants in the election and electorates in the State , to carry out the exercise peacefully but said  that the realities on ground , favoured the candidate of APC to win the contest .

The statement reads in part : ” Unlike the 2022 election that we lost purely to lack of internal cohesion, the APC is now better positioned to reclaim the state’s seat of political power.

“The reasons are pure and simple, and they are not connected to the claims of Governor Adeleke that Osun APC is using federal might to defeat the incumbent. 

“This claim is unfounded and even untrue. Unlike 2022, Osun APC is now more cohesive and prepared not just to regain the political control of the state, but also to reposition it posterity. But this cannot be said about Adeleke’s political structure, which ran into turbulence midway into his first administration. What Governor Adeleke has lost due to his poor relationship management skill has now been the gain of Osun APC.

“It can be argued that some remnants of the PDP are still with Governor Adeleke. But what is the political strength of these remnants? Can they defeat Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in his areas of political influence? 

“Can they override the influence of the Turaki-led PDP faction that has already pledged their support to the APC in the next guber election?

” Apparently, the ACCORD lacks a formidable political structure that can mobilise much-needed support for its governorship candidate and guarantee his re-election next Saturday. This pattern reinforces the view that the APC remains the foremost contender in the next Osun poll.

“Another indicator that glaringly favours the APC lies  in the shrinking support base of the incumbent governor within his political circle. The real question is: how did Governor Adeleke manage the political capital that supported him to win the 2022 governorship contest? Evidence in the public space revealed that he mismanaged his relationship with key political actors and figures that generously supported him in 2022. 

“His poor relationship management has forced former political allies to re-evaluate their ties with him and make decisive moves to protect their political interests. 

“Adeleke’s strained political alliances, however, have worked strictly to the APC’s advantage. Most of these political actors have completely withdrawn their support from him because he could not deftly manage the people. In the Senate, for instance, two out of the three senators from Osun State regretfully parted ways with Governor Adeleke because they were almost utterly excluded from the state’s governance process.

“With all these tendencies, is it right for Governor Adeleke to accuse Osun APC of leveraging federal might to win the next governorship election? “

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