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THE attention of the Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation has been drawn to an article entitled; “Aregbesola, Omisore and I” authored by one Babajide Omoworare, and published in The Nation of Sunday, 16 June, 2013 on page 26. The said Omoworare was described in the publication as the “senator representing Osun East,” a claim which is still in litigation as we shall presently show. The said publication was replete with half-truths, blatant falsehood, tissues of lies and can best be described as a tale told by the moonlight.

While we could have ignored the piece as an amateurish regurgitation by a not-so-bright schoolboy of the jaundiced narratives he had heard from his teacher, we found it compelling to set the records straight, especially as facts of history were distorted and misrepresented. Newspapers are mediums of historical records from which students, scholars, researchers, and all those searching for knowledge draw inspiration. On a daily basis, Nigerians and foreigners alike pore over the pages of our newspapers in search of information that would influence important decisions in their day-to-day existence as well as shape their views and opinions.

Allowing Omoworare to get away with blue murder in his said piece will not only be irresponsible and an abdication of duty on the part of those who know the truth, it will also be a disservice to the reading public as well as to generations of unborn Nigerians who may stumble on his diatribe in future. As part of your own sacred duty as a newspaper under obligation to reflect all contending views to an issue in line with the media’s code of conduct and professional ethics, we have no doubt in our minds that you will live up to that responsibility by giving vent to this rejoinder.

The issues touched by Omoworare fall into three main categories; namely, the records of the performance in office of his boss, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as governor of Osun State for the past three years; the politics of betrayal in the Alliance for Democracy; and the illegally-conducted 2011 elections in Osun State. In each of the three categories, Omoworare was, at his best, economical with the truth.

We start with the last general election in the state. It is on record that prior to the 2011 elections in Osun, 38 stakeholders went to court seeking an order to stop the election on the grounds that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Oluwatoyin Akeju, was a biased umpire, having served, in Lagos, as special adviser to Senator Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the parties contesting in the elections. The said Ambassador Akeju had also been confirmed as a card-carrying member of the ACN. The court granted the order, restraining INEC from recognising Akeju as REC and restraining the same Akeju from conducting or supervising the conduct of the elections. The INEC, however, ignored the court order and allowed the said Akeju, a confirmed ACN sympathiser, to preside over the elections in Osun State. For record purposes, the suit number is FHC/OS/CS/26/2011 while the ruling was delivered on March 28th, 2011. Interested parties should, please, check up the court records. Permit us to say that this is a court of competent jurisdiction.

The outcome of the shambolic elections presided over by the said Akeju was a massively rigged polls throwing up Omoworare and his like. As law-abiding citizens, the plaintiffs in the original case then went to court seeking to invalidate the election held against a subsisting court order. The court was about determining the suit when the ACN, obviously scared of an eventual invalidation of the said election, rushed to delay the hearing of the substantive suit. The appeal by the ACN is still pending in the Court of Appeal. It is also on records that INEC later approached the Court of Appeal to appeal the original court ruling restraining it, first, from recognising Akeja as REC Osun State, and, second, from allowing the said Akeju to supervise the conduct of the Osun polls. The case appeal number is CA/AK/46/2011 with INEC and Akeju as the appellants and the PDP as the respondent.

Why Omoworare denies the existence of these court cases over his so-called victory is not far to decipher. The presence of these cases cannot but give him jitters, constantly reminding him that his “victory” is pyrrhic. Daily as he walks the hallowed chambers of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and remembers these court cases, he cannot but fret that he parades in borrowed robes and that his days as a “distinguished Senator” are numbered. Truly speaking, no one would fancy that; so Omoworare behaves like the ostrich, pretending that the court cases do not exist. But even that will not wish them away! It is bare-faced misinformation and deception that Omoworare failed to make reference to the fact that the election on which he stands to describe himself as the “Senator representing Osun east” is still in litigation. We would have expected him to have been distinguished enough to admit the above facts as he did on his scampering away from fresh contest after the 2007 election petition ruling. The election that he claimed to have won was illegally conducted and the court is handling the case appropriately. It would have amounted to endorsing an illegality were Iyiola Omisore to file a petition against an election the court had ruled should not hold.

Omoworare`s supposition that all previous elections, except that of 1999, were rigged is a self-serving, indicting accusation. The 2003 elections where Chief Bisi Akande was flushed out by Osun people were adjudged one of the best elections in the state. In Osun east senatorial district, Omisore won despite being unjustly imprisoned during the period. The groundswell of sympathy guaranteed his victory even when he could not campaign round the district because of his incarceration.

Omoworare must note that if democracy is to take firm roots in Nigeria, it is deceitful to see only elections won by us as free and fair while those won by our opponents are bad-mouthed even when clear evidence shows that such elections were free and fair. Everyone knew why Chief Akande lost in 2003. Akande himself knew why he lost. Before that election, knowledgeable AD leaders in Osun had seen the ominous signs and had sounded the alarm. But like the proverbial hunter’s dog destined to get lost in the forest, Chief Akande spurned all good counsel and continued with his anti-people policies – and the people paid him back in his own coins by massively voting him out of office. That is the correct analysis of what happened in Osun State in 2003 and only a jaundiced writer like Omoworare would pretend not to know that.

On Omisore’s relationship with Chief Akande, Omoworare should have been tutored properly by his master. The Alliance for Democracy was formed in Omisore`s hotel room in Abuja under the watchful eyes of the late Chief Bola Ige. Omoworare was a young man still trying to find his feet as at that time. Omisore bankrolled not just the party but also the election of Chief Akande as governor of Osun State. Facts are sacred. Contrary to accusations that Omisore disregarded and harassed the former governor, it is rather the other way round as Omisore was hounded and tossed around in the desperate bid of the cabal that had formed around Akande to betray the gentleman’s agreement of one term only agreed to within the party caucus prior to the 1999 elections.

That was the prelude to the campaign of calumny, ostracization, and orchestrated impeachment of Senator Omisore as deputy governor of the state on flimsy grounds. Senator Omisore was betrayed by Chief Akande and the others he had helped. It was not the other way round. Their plan was to politically bury Omisore despite all he did for them but God is ever on the side of the righteous. Omoworare was not part of the caucus and so cannot claim first-hand knowledge of what transpired. We must also note that during the days of the United Nigeria Congress Party [UNCP] when Senator Omisore was already a key player in the politics of Nigeria, Omoworare was still a student.

We are, however, in total agreement with the writer on the negative achievements of his master, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State. After three years in office, Ogbeni has piled up a debt portfolio of N200billion without any completed project to show for it. Ogbeni admitted incurring close to a billion naira on chartered flights and hotel bills between Lagos and Ibadan under less than a year. Each mega school he purports to be building is awarded at the cost of N595 million, believed to have been inflated by more than 60 per cent. Federal roads are being rehabilitated as a channel for over-inflated claims on the Federal Government while state roads are neglected. The N6 billion naira Opon Imo (more appropriately, Opon Aimo) is believed to have been awarded to Ogbeni’s son.

Yet, the tablets` availability in the quantum required cannot be guaranteed while the project`s applicability and usability in the state remain sources of concern.

Let it be known to Omoworare and others of his ilk that Omisore as chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee for four years transparently supervised the appropriation of almost N49 trillion to the applause and commendation of the public. His tenure as chairman of that strategic committee was a golden age of appropriation processes in the country. As a professional engineer, he has undertaken many top-flight engineering projects. Thus, Omisore is not the ordinary, business-as-usual politician but a tested and experienced professional that has the wherewithal to take Osun to a new level of collective prosperity.

As we close, a word of advice is necessary for Omoworare: Facts of history cannot be whimsically distorted. Omisore was pivotal to making Chief Bisi Akande, current National Chairman of ACN, governor of Osun State. The injustice done to Omisore was monumental. Let all those who aspire to the position of leadership toe the path of truth because truth exalts; falsehood is a reproach. Omisore holds no personal grudges against anyone; not even against Akande, Omoworare or Gov. Aregbesola. It is the abysmal failure of the Aregbesola administration to deliver the promised dividends of democracy to the good people of Osun state that, however, rankles. Thank God, the people of Osun State will soon have their say. 2014 is around the corner.

mcwinnie: [size=22pt]i blame the moderator for putting this on the front page[/size]
u think say it is easy to play 10 against 11
Well done boys, Good work Kechi

even Barcelona that played 10 against 11 lost the match

Boys(Barca), that u are still the best in the world, is undeniable, unarguable and incontestable. Ur haters especially maldrid and chelsea fans are nowhere near u

Aussie: I am surprised at all the comments here. I watched the rally live on the nta yesterday and Tinubu never said he spent millions of GBP on Mimiko's legal battle. He only said he gave Mimiko money and cars towards to prosecution of the legal battle against Agagu. I stand to be corrected here. Don't know where Punch got thier GBP from.

Mr Man, you don't know what you are saying, PUNCH of all newspapers cannot quote Tinubu out of context. Punch is ACN's official newspaper

Dudu_Negro:

This is the key point of their ruling! If this tribunal had not voided the voting records would Obanikoro have taken lead over Adeniji?

Does a tribunal headed by a retired citizen have the statutory power and authority to manipulate voting records? It seems this tribunal has assumed responsibilities and power reserved for INEC.

PDP is asking for trouble.......

you are simply cracy. thats just the best way to describe you. bitch.

May others like him troubling our institutions die the same way.....BASTARD

Too bad and idiotic to be wishing GEJ wife evil. the only sin she committed is being GEJ's wife. Wishing quick recovery Madam Patience