Rauf Aregbesola: PDP Nemesis In Osun
Last Friday, the Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, declared Rauf Aregbesola as the legitimate winner of the 2007 gubernatorial election in Osun state.
The Court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to issue a certificate of return to Mr. Aregbesola as the duly elected governor. Declaring former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinyola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as an imposter and ordered his immediate vacation of office.
The ruling by the Court resulted to wild jubilation in Osun state and brought to an end the tortuous quest for justice by Aregbesola.
Aregbesola was formerly an activist. He was Lagos Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure when he ran for election in April 2007 on the Action Congress platform. In May 2008, Aregbesola called over 100 witnesses and tendered 168 exhibits in his petition before the Election Petitions Tribunal, alleging violence and ballot boxes stuffing in the election. In an October 2008 interview, he described Oyinlola as "a bully who came from a reactionary military arm", stating that Oyinlola had done nothing for the people of Osun state. He also claimed that 12 people had died in the election violence.
In August 2009 the police arrested Aregbesola, apparently for involvement in the alleged forgery of a police report on the conduct of the elections. Later that month he sought bail so that he could perform the lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia. In August 2010 the police summoned him to make a statement about a 14 June 2007 bomb explosion near the ministry of water resources. Aregbesola denied any involvement, stating that he was in Abuja at the time.
Justices of the Federal Appeal Court, Ibadan finally declared Aregbesola the winner of the 2007 election, ordering that he be sworn in as governor by noon on 27 November 2010.
And last Saturday in Osogbo Aregbesola took oath of office amidst celebration by his supporters and announced a six-point agenda that would form the focus of his administration.
Like most progressive administrations, the agenda include free and qualitative education, restoration for basic health system, war against poverty and hunger, unemployment, modern town planning and urban development. He also said the development of the state would be vigorously pursued by his administration.
"I thank God that the long night of vote robbery and resultant oppression of innocent citizens is over. Now is the time to repair our land and empower our people. Our programme for the redemption of our state is the same popular programmes that won your hearts during the campaigns, as a result of which you gave us a resounding victory," he said in his inauguration speech.
It is indeed a new dawn for Aregbesola, Osun state and Nigeria as the court has once again risen to the challenge to give honour to whom it is due. Aregbesola has shown that he is a dogged fighter who was ready to take the aspersions thrown at him by the thieving PDP who did not only steal the peoples mandate but also have the gut to cry foul when they were caught pants down by the court. As noted above, Aregbesola was once accused of forgery of police report on the conduct of the elections. By his victory at the court he has shamed his traducers who wanted to discredit his evidence and possibly achieve their evil intent of illegal occupation of government house of Osun state.
His victory has also brought to the fore the need for the nation to address the delay in justice delivery in the country because it makes the nation look as unserious in its democratic exercise. It took almost four years for our courts to determine that the PDP stole the people's gubernatorial mandate given to Aregbesola. The newest governor in the country today could not have achieved the victory for which the nation has been hailing the judiciary if he did not have the financial muscle to confront the illegal PDP government in the state as well as the tacit support the illegal government was getting from the PDP controlled federal government.
Aregbesola has joined the growing list of governors whose mandate was restored despite the of INEC that collaborated with the PDP to deny the people the right to be served by their truly elected leaders. In the list includes; the Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi, the Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, the Governor of Ondo state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and Dr. Olukayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti state. Interestingly, all these governors have also graced the pages of DAILY SUMMIT's heroes of democracy series pages.
The victory of the new governor has also rekindled faith in the democratic process as Nigerians now are more confident that they can get justice if they persevere and put their grievances before the courts.It is also another reminder that what INEC conducted in 2007 was a sham as people who have no business representing the public were declared winners of the elections. For many aggrieved losers of that election due to the manipulation of INEC and PDP and who may have lacked the resources to pursue their case in courts it was good bye to the mandate that may have been rightly given to them by the people.
The country has to be grateful to men like Aregbesola who had to take the gauntlet and challenge the hegemony of the PDP that was determined to impose itself on Nigerians by all means fair or foul. For his tenacity in pursuit of justice despite all odds, Aregbesola has helped in deepening democracy in the country.He therefore deserve all the accolades he has been receiving since Friday from well meaning Nigerians as a hero of democracy.
The Court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to issue a certificate of return to Mr. Aregbesola as the duly elected governor. Declaring former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinyola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as an imposter and ordered his immediate vacation of office.
The ruling by the Court resulted to wild jubilation in Osun state and brought to an end the tortuous quest for justice by Aregbesola.
Aregbesola was formerly an activist. He was Lagos Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure when he ran for election in April 2007 on the Action Congress platform. In May 2008, Aregbesola called over 100 witnesses and tendered 168 exhibits in his petition before the Election Petitions Tribunal, alleging violence and ballot boxes stuffing in the election. In an October 2008 interview, he described Oyinlola as "a bully who came from a reactionary military arm", stating that Oyinlola had done nothing for the people of Osun state. He also claimed that 12 people had died in the election violence.
In August 2009 the police arrested Aregbesola, apparently for involvement in the alleged forgery of a police report on the conduct of the elections. Later that month he sought bail so that he could perform the lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia. In August 2010 the police summoned him to make a statement about a 14 June 2007 bomb explosion near the ministry of water resources. Aregbesola denied any involvement, stating that he was in Abuja at the time.
Justices of the Federal Appeal Court, Ibadan finally declared Aregbesola the winner of the 2007 election, ordering that he be sworn in as governor by noon on 27 November 2010.
And last Saturday in Osogbo Aregbesola took oath of office amidst celebration by his supporters and announced a six-point agenda that would form the focus of his administration.
Like most progressive administrations, the agenda include free and qualitative education, restoration for basic health system, war against poverty and hunger, unemployment, modern town planning and urban development. He also said the development of the state would be vigorously pursued by his administration.
"I thank God that the long night of vote robbery and resultant oppression of innocent citizens is over. Now is the time to repair our land and empower our people. Our programme for the redemption of our state is the same popular programmes that won your hearts during the campaigns, as a result of which you gave us a resounding victory," he said in his inauguration speech.
It is indeed a new dawn for Aregbesola, Osun state and Nigeria as the court has once again risen to the challenge to give honour to whom it is due. Aregbesola has shown that he is a dogged fighter who was ready to take the aspersions thrown at him by the thieving PDP who did not only steal the peoples mandate but also have the gut to cry foul when they were caught pants down by the court. As noted above, Aregbesola was once accused of forgery of police report on the conduct of the elections. By his victory at the court he has shamed his traducers who wanted to discredit his evidence and possibly achieve their evil intent of illegal occupation of government house of Osun state.
His victory has also brought to the fore the need for the nation to address the delay in justice delivery in the country because it makes the nation look as unserious in its democratic exercise. It took almost four years for our courts to determine that the PDP stole the people's gubernatorial mandate given to Aregbesola. The newest governor in the country today could not have achieved the victory for which the nation has been hailing the judiciary if he did not have the financial muscle to confront the illegal PDP government in the state as well as the tacit support the illegal government was getting from the PDP controlled federal government.
Aregbesola has joined the growing list of governors whose mandate was restored despite the of INEC that collaborated with the PDP to deny the people the right to be served by their truly elected leaders. In the list includes; the Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi, the Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, the Governor of Ondo state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and Dr. Olukayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti state. Interestingly, all these governors have also graced the pages of DAILY SUMMIT's heroes of democracy series pages.
The victory of the new governor has also rekindled faith in the democratic process as Nigerians now are more confident that they can get justice if they persevere and put their grievances before the courts.It is also another reminder that what INEC conducted in 2007 was a sham as people who have no business representing the public were declared winners of the elections. For many aggrieved losers of that election due to the manipulation of INEC and PDP and who may have lacked the resources to pursue their case in courts it was good bye to the mandate that may have been rightly given to them by the people.
The country has to be grateful to men like Aregbesola who had to take the gauntlet and challenge the hegemony of the PDP that was determined to impose itself on Nigerians by all means fair or foul. For his tenacity in pursuit of justice despite all odds, Aregbesola has helped in deepening democracy in the country.He therefore deserve all the accolades he has been receiving since Friday from well meaning Nigerians as a hero of democracy.
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