THE emerging electoral battle for the soul of Osun ahead of 2018 governorship poll assumed another dimension on Tuesday when the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sarafa Tunji Ishola said that the outburst of the All Progressive Congress (APC) against his personality amounts to hate speeches.
He said that the party should learn how to be civil and apply decorum in dealing with the people when reacting to political issues.
Speaking with the Tribune Online in Iwo, shortly after holding reconciliatory meeting with the rank and file of the PDP in Osun West Senatorial District, Ishola said “they were issuing statement that I was ignoramus and this Ipinle Osun, Ipinle Omoluabi. Do you see an Omoluabi doing that?
He continued, “It amounts to personal attack and not even a ruling party should be involved in this. A government controlled by the ruling party should be couch with its language, we are talking hate speeches in Nigeria. Talk about issues and let us deal issues and to me that is the issue”.
“I don’t get involved in sentiments, I like to deal on issues and things that are germane to the survival of democracy. People died for the democracy we are enjoying today. We have our irreversible passion as we move forward to ensure that democracy really practice the way it should be”.
We all travelled outside the country and see the way it is done. Why can’t we emulate that virtues? One strong ruling party and one strong opposition party without personal attacks. I am using this opportunity to appeal to the APC.
We are not fighting. This is democracy, the ruling party, the opposition party should be given space so that the people will then decide during elections”.
But, the spokesperson of the APC in Osun, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi described as untrue the position of the PDP, saying “our response to what Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola, the mediator in PDP crisis, was based on what he said”.
“What we said that he was not properly informed on what is on ground in Osun did not amount to ‘hate speech’. If a man doesn’t know a thing, he doesn’t know. Expectedly, his party men here would not have told him the whole truth before he spoke of ‘sacking the APC”.
“We insist that Sarafa was not sufficiently informed about the political reality of the APC’s overwhelming support in Osun and our developmental programmes, which can be seen and felt in cities and towns in the state. And that is what a party in crutches would now want to upstage. If he knew all that, he would have spoken differently”.
and then