“It’s Oriade’s Turn!” — Olajengbesi Reveals Cross-Party Alliance Rocking Wole Oke’s Re-election Dream

A growing wave of political realignment is sweeping through Ijesa North Federal Constituency as influential voices from Obokun Local Government are reportedly backing a power shift to Oriade Local Government ahead of the House of Representatives race, in what legal practitioner and political stakeholder, Pelumi Olajengbesi, describes as an overwhelming moral and political consensus.

Olajengbesi, who said he held extensive conversations with key leaders of thought in Obokun, declared that the momentum across party lines now points strongly toward Oriade producing the next representative for the constituency, insisting that such a move reflects “justice, balance, and respect for coexistence.”

According to him, “Across party lines, many leaders in Obokun have now finally reached the same conclusion that after many years of representation from Obokun, it is only fair, natural, and politically healthy for the House of Representatives seat to return to Oriade Local Government.”

The position, he stressed, is not rooted in partisan rivalry or political hostility, but in what he called a fair recognition of rotational balance after years of Obokun’s dominance of the seat.

“This is not about political party, hatred, or division. It is simply about justice, balance, and respect for coexistence,” he stated.

In what appears to be a significant indicator of shifting political calculations, Olajengbesi pointed to the pattern of aspirants emerging across major political parties, noting that the majority are from Oriade, a development he said reflects a broad-based acceptance that Oriade deserves the next shot.

Within the All Progressives Congress, APC, he noted that nearly all aspirants who picked nomination forms are from Oriade, including Ojumu, Odofin, Agoro, and Alubankudi, while incumbent lawmaker Wole Oke remains the lone aspirant from Obokun.

“In APC alone, almost all the aspirants who picked nomination forms are from Oriade, except Wole Oke, who took the form against the wish and appeal of his APC leaders in Obokun because he insisted he must contest again after 24 years in the House of Representatives,” Olajengbesi claimed.

He further cited similar patterns in other political platforms, including ADC and Accord, where aspirants are also predominantly from Oriade, describing the trend as evidence that the zoning conversation has matured beyond party boundaries.

“What this clearly shows is that across political divides, there is now a broad acceptance of the moral argument that Oriade deserves a turn,” he said.

Olajengbesi also revisited Wole Oke’s alleged 2023 position, claiming that the long-serving lawmaker had publicly indicated during his swearing-in that he would not seek another term and had acknowledged Oriade’s turn, making his renewed ambition politically contentious.

“More interestingly, Wole Oke, during his swearing-in in 2023, publicly maintained that he would not contest again for the House of Representatives and that it was Oriade’s turn. Yet today, he has become the only individual from Obokun pursuing what is gradually looking like an uncontrollable desire for power,” he said.

With the APC primary approaching, Olajengbesi suggested that the race may ultimately test not just popularity, but the party’s commitment to internal democracy.

“The APC primary election will therefore be very interesting, because the only realistic pathway for Wole Oke to secure the party ticket may ultimately depend on imposition,” he asserted.

He added that current stakeholder alignments appear to favor Oriade-based aspirants, particularly Ojumu and Odofin, both of whom he described as formidable contenders with strong grassroots and stakeholder backing.

As permutations intensify, the battle for Ijesa North is shaping up not merely as a contest of candidates, but as a referendum on equity, zoning, and whether political longevity should give way to rotational justice in one of Osun’s closely watched constituencies.