The Truth About Osun Zoning Formula

The Truth About Osun Zoning Formula By Wahab Ishola 

There have been noises regarding the zone now qualify to produce the next governor of the State of Osun after the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

The APC as a party does not operates on zoning formula, instead believes in capacity, intellectualism and acceptability by party members of any candidates seeking political office which therefore makes those singing discordance tune of zoning to be on their own.

However, for the purpose of putting the record straight as reference to the practice in the State of Osun, the state was divided into 6 zones by the regime of First Executive Governor, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke, in a gazette, namely: Ife zone 1 which comprises of Ife central, Ife East, Ife South, Ife North and Area office; Ilesa zone 2 comprises Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa West, Atakumosa East, Oriade and Obokun; Ede zone 3 comprises of Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo; Ikirun zone 4 comprises of Ifelodun Boripe, Odo-Otin, Boluwaduro, Ila and Ifedayo; Iwo zone 5 comprises of Iwo, Ola-Oluwa, Ayedire, Ayedaade, Irewole and Isokan; Osogbo zone 6 comprises Osogbo, Olorunda, Orolu and Irepodun.

Point 1: Out of the six (6) zones, zone 1, 2, 3 & 4 had produced governor in their respective zones except zone 5 (Iwo) and zone 6 (Osogbo) as enumerated below:

Ife zone 1 produces Oba Adesoji Aderemi of Western region from 1960-1967 as governor.

Ilesa zone 2 produces (1), Late Chief Bola Ige 1979-1983
(2), Incumbent Gov. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola 2010-date.

Ede zone 3 produces Alhaji Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke 1992-1993 as governor.

Ikirun zone 4 produces (1), Chief Bisi Akande 1999-2003
(2), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola 2003-2010

Both Iwo and Osogbo zones are yet to produce the governor in the state.

Point 2: Osogbo singlehandedly agitated for the establishment of state-owned university but at the time the then governor, Prince Olagunsoye oyinlola approved the school, he made a recourse to 1993 gazette under Alhaji isiaka Adeleke regime by establishing campuses of the institution in the six (6) zones namely Osogbo (Osogbo zone), Okuku (Ikirun zone), Ipetumodu (Ilesa zone), Ikire (Iwo zone), Ifetedo (Ife zone) and Ejigbo (Ede zone).

Point 3: How each of these zones stands in terms of electoral value to any political office holder, particularly office of the governor or those agitating for zoning instead of competence, acceptability through the ballot. During the last governorship election that returned Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Ife zone garnered 39,429 votes; Ilesa zone scored 71,967 votes; Ede zone got 55,456 votes; Ikirun zone scored 62,061 votes, Iwo zone pulled 77,365 votes and Osogbo zone scored a whopping 88,406 votes for our great party, All Progressives Party, APC.

In all these, it is clear to the blind that Iwo and Osogbo zones are the only zones that have moral right to lay hold or agitates for zoning of governorship seat to their zones going by the precedent of allocating whatever positions or developments meant for the state.