THE governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has received the royal blessings of the Owa Obokun Adimula and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II, on his aspiration to become Osun State governor, during a visit to his palace on Saturday.
Omisore, who, with his running mate, Hon Yemi Lawal, SDP chairman, Dr Bayo Faforiji and other party leaders, officially kicked off his electioneering campaign at Ilesa, Osun State, on Saturday, visited the royal father at his palace, where he said it became important for him to pay a royal homage and receive blessings from the throne for he considered Oba Aromolaran as a father, who occupied a special place of honour in Osun State and Yorubaland.
Earlier, entering the ancient city of Ilesa, with pomp and pageantry, into the warm embrace of a mammoth crowd, who had gathered for the Osun East campaign rally, the shout of “Omisore!” rented the air, and while he drove towards the palace, exactly at 2:02 p.m, it rained slightly, as his elated supporters applauded it as a mark of a peaceful entry, matching the rainwater (omi) with a shortened form of his name, “Omi,” which they said symbolised “a relief for Osun.”
At the palace, Oba Aromolaran said he was delighted to welcome Omisore as an August visitor and lauded his ambition to govern Osun State, saying, “I have listened with a rapt attention to your inspiring speech at this occasion, and I have to wish you success, God’s guidance and travelling mercies in the course of your traversing the nooks and crannies of Osun State to seek necessary support for your ambition to become the next governor of Osun State.
Oba Aromolaran hinted that prominent and respectable traditional rulers are fathers to all members of political parties in the country, and their role was to pray to God to guide all the aspirants and select those who will move our country forward and benefit the masses, as he warned politicians to ensure they live up to their promises when they attain power, noting that “time waits for no one.”
He said, “it is in this vein, I am praying that God will be with you, guide you aright, bless your aspirations and crown all your efforts with success,” while he specifically beseeched God, requesting that, “when God will choose, He won’t forget Senator Iyiola Omisore. This is my prayer, and may He allow the prayer to come to past.”
Omisore responding, expressed his appreciation to the royal father for the warm reception, promising to live up to expectation and fulfil his electoral promises, which he said had been his character as a former political office holder, noting that as a member of the Senate, he inaugurated some projects in Ilesa, but which the succeeding government had abandoned since 2011, while he promised to bring development back to Ilesa.
Addressing his supporters at the rally, he admonished them to resist what he called “Aregbesola’s latest scheme to ensure that Osun State remained indebted after leaving office, for at least 15 years,” alleging he had instructed the state Accountant General to immediately issue an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for a monthly deduction of N337 million from Osun State Federal allocation account for a monthly payment of an N14.4 billion contract the government recently awarded for the next 15 years.”
He alleged that the contract he termed, “a disingenuous scheme,” he said was embedded in “a fake document issued for, ‘the award of contract for dualistation of Ereja Square-Imo-Ilesa/Akure Expressway; Rehabilitation of Ereja Square with Irojo-Ilesa/Akure Expressway; Majestic uplift and Redefinition of Ilesa City Centre and Rehabilitation / Reconstruction of Akoda-Ede-Ara-Ejigbo, Iwo-Osogbo (Testing Ground) Kelebe Iragbiji road at the sum of N14.4 billion.”
These, and some others, Omisore charged Osun people to resist, as he addressed them at the Ilesa, Osun East SDP campaign rally, charging that, it was in the indebtedness of Osun State, the “APC and its offshoot in the ADC is situated, to gain government again and cover up these manifest frauds in another eight years to enrich themselves with state resources, while the workers and pensioners continue to suffer unpaid salaries and pensions, and millions of our youths remain unemployed, while our artisans and contractors would have no job to do.”
He regretted that, “all roads leading to Osun State, including that of Ilesa, Ife, Iwo, Ikirun, Osogbo, Orolu and Ila remain impassable and inndeplorable state,” saying the people of Osun, “can now see why all hands must be on deck to salvage and rescue our dear state from the hands of these economic vampires, adding that, ” this struggle should be beyond money bag politics and business as usual,” while he also called on President Muhammadu Buhari “to disallow this latest deduction of N337 million monthly from Osun coffers.”
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While receiving an APC chieftain, Hon Yemi Oke who defected into SDP, Omisore charged all concerned Osun indigenes to rescue Osun State from the hand of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, while he called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leader to jointly beg him to “relief the citizens from hardship in the state,” saying, “this impoverishment and sufferings of the masses of our people is just too much, the damage and disaster he has unleashed on our polity are immeasurable.”
The Omisore campaign director general, Hon Bade Falade, earlier at the palace, in his introspective speech had lauded Oba Aromolaran, who he called a distinguished academic, an economist and an author, whose classic economics textbook had liberated many in the country as students in those days, while he blamed government for no longer promoting the textbook among students, as he promised the SDP will reintroduce the textbook to schools on assumption of office in the state.
The palace high chiefs and its Public Relation Officer (PRO), Elder T.A. Olatunbosun, were on hand to receive Omisore and other SDP chieftains, which include, ex-Police Affairs Minister, Mr Jelili Adesiyan, ex-Water Resources Minister, Mr Bashir Awotoyebo, ex-Rep member, Hon Ismaila Kolawole, ex-Director General, NEMA, Mrs Remi Olowu, ex-Director, NEMA, Mr Segun Ojo, Alhaji Yekini Omisor, Mrs Comfort Ale, among others.
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