The victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, has been described as a verdict against the Muslim- Muslim presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, a Muslim and Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, had selected former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, another Muslim, as his Running Mate for the 2023 presidential election.
His action had generated widespread reactions across the country, with over 50 million Christians kicking against it.
Osun State is one of the stronghold States of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the South West region and part of the back bone of Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC.
Since 2014 the APC was birthed, Osun State has been in the kitty of the ruling party, winning successive governorship elections in the state.
From Governors Rauf Aregbesola to Gboyega Oyetola, Osun State was a core APC state, despite the follies and imperfections of the Aregbesola administration, which had a running battle with workers and pensioners over unpaid dues.
WHAT CHANGED IN 2022.
Despite the popularity of Senator Ademola Adeleke, the PDP governorship candidate, many argued that the APC may have crumbled to the PDP at the governorship election because of the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket of the APC.
According to Wikipedia, Christians are in the majority in Osun State and may have opted to vote for Adeleke, who had in 2018, when he vied for governorship, vowed to return schools to the missionaries, a plan which had raised eyebrows from some Muslim groups in the state.
Another report further claimed that Senator Adeleke, a Muslim, had turned to a born again Christian, after he was seen giving a testimony in church in the build up to the 2018 governorship election.
Governor Oyetola of the APC is a Muslim. Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, had during an APC Campaign rally prior to the election, drummed support for Oyetola, on the basis that he is the only Muslim Governor in the South West zone.
Edward Unanka, a political analyst, said the
“This is a reaction to the APC Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket. Its a test case. There would have been no basis for the APC to lose a State in the South West at this time, because it is the back- bone of support for Asiwaju Tinubu.
“if not that Tinubu shunned all sane persuasions and opted for a Muslim/Muslim ticket, there would have been no reason to lose Osun State, barely two months, the APC had won Ekiti State” Unanka said.
