Osun By-Election: Three APC Aspirants Step Down

By Fatai Akanji and Olabode Abolaji

Three out of the aspirants of the All Progressives Congress for the July 8 Osun West Senatorial District By-Election have stepped down.

This is coming on a day when the screening exercise for the June 12 primaries of the party were held at the state party Secretariat in Osogbo.

They are a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Foluke Etteh, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Alhaja Lateefat Giwa and Hon Omolaoye Oluremi Akintola.

The battle for who picks the July 8 ticket on the platform of the APC now holds between the younger brother of the deceased Senator representing the district,    Isiaka Adeleke, Dr Demola Adeleke, Sen. Mudashir Hussein and the state APC Secretary, Hon Rasaq Salinsile.

INEC had fixed the by-election for July 8 after Adeleke’s death on April 23rd, while selection process by political parties kicked off in earnest since June 6.

CityMirrorNews gathered that the Governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has favoured one of his Commissioners, Sen Mudashir Hussein to grab the party’s ticket for the by-election.

Hussein, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, has also once represented the senatorial district between 2011 and 2015.

He surprised many people in the state when his name surfaced as a commissioner-nominee few months ago; he was made the Commissioner in charge of the cabinet.

His candidacy for the senatorial seat therefore has caused tension within the party and confusion in the senatorial district which comprises ten local government areas.

The opposition to his candidacy stems from the fact that the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and the member of the House of Representatives representing the Federal Constituency in the district both hail from the same Local Government as Hussein, that is; Ejigbo.

There is however tight security at the party Secretariat as members of the All Progressives Congress are chanting solidarity songs for Ademola Adeleke when He appeared for the screening exercise on Saturday.