I’ll recover my stolen mandate from Aregbesola – Omisore

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has
expressed optimism that he would be declared the governor
of the state by the Election Petitions Tribunal hearing his
petition against Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Omisore said this in an interview with journalists after the
proceedings at the tribunal in Osogbo on Friday.
Omisore had earlier in the day said the same thing at the
summit organised by some Yoruba elders at the Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile Ife, that he would emerge
victorious very soon.
Asked if he had confidence in the tribunal, the PDP
candidate said that he would not have approached the
panel if there were no evidence that the August 9
governorship poll was rigged by the All Progressives
Congress.
He said, “I am very hopeful that justice will be done. I
want to urge our people not to lose hope. We have a
good case and that was why we came to the tribunal. We
are a law abiding people. We refused to be provoked
when they kept attacking our people even after the election.
“Very soon, we will retrieve our stolen mandate from the
thieves who robbed us. Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos will
come back to the PDP fold in 2015 and then the South-
West will experience speedy development.”
But the Director of Publicity of the APC in Osun
State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, when contacted, advised
Omisore to stop deluding himself.
The APC’s spokesperson said that Aregbesola won the
election convincingly despite the PDP’s tricks and the
attempts to rig the poll.
He said, the election was used by the people of the state to
pay back Aregbesola for his numerous achievements in his
first term despite the meagre resources available.
He said, “Omisore has no mandate anywhere. Ask him if
he ever won election in his adult life. The senatorial seat
was once awarded him from the prison.
“In 2011, he thought he had enough to win back the seat, he
could not even win his ward.
“In 2014, he overrated himself; he lost woefully, even with
all the federal support – the military, hooded operatives of
the Department of State Service, the police and the
scandalous money.
“He should know by now that the reality in the state of
Osun is the All Progressives Congress.”
Omisore’s counsel, Mr. Nathaniel Oke (SAN), had
applied to Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led tribunal to
adjourn the sitting of the panel to Monday (today) for the
continuation of the hearing of the petition.
The counsel premised the application on the alleged refusal
of the Independent National Electoral Commission to
make ballot papers used for the election available for the
use of the petitioner.
Oke said that Omisore needed the materials to further
prove his case before the panel but INEC said the
documents would be made available on Monday.
Mr. Charles Edosomwan, who is the counsel for the first
respondent (Aregbesola) and the APC’s counsel, Mr.
Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), raised objections to the application
for adjournment.