Oyetola Makes Major Re-election Move Days To Osun Guber

The Osun State gubernatorial election is just days away – July 16, 2022.

And re-election-seeking Governor Gboyega Oyetola is not leaving anything to chance.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that the 67year old Governor just made a very strong move to retain his influence at the grassroots.

The man who succeeded Rauf Aregbesola in September 2018 has extended the tenure of thirty (30) caretaker chairmen in charge of the local governments in the state.

The tenure of the caretaker chairmen ends on July 12, 2022, just four days before the Osun gubernatorial election but Oyetola has written to the State House of Assembly to extend their tenure for another six months.

All the thirty local government chairmen are Oyetola’s loyalists and members of his party, the All Progressives Congress.

“This is a very strong political play that keeps Oyetola’s men in place and position to strongly protect his interests as well as gives the local government chairmen extra reasons to work hard for the re-election of the Governor” SocietyNow.Ng learned.

SocietyNow.Ng further gathered that ‘this is particularly important because there are strong indications that the Osun 2022 gubernatorial election will be determined by the masses. And the Osun APC’s strongest grassroots influence Rauf Aregbesola is not actively campaigning for Oyetola”

Aregbesola, a two-term governor of Osun State – 27 November 2010 to 27 November 2018 – groomed APC in the state and retains an appreciable influence with the locals.

The former Governor was against Oyetola getting a second term ticket but suffered a landslide defeat in the bid to stop the governor at the July 2022 APC primary election. His choice Moshood Adeoti came a distant third and the former governor has stayed away from Oyetola’s campaign since then.

Aregbesola’s “stance” has made his supporters open to pressure to work for opposition parties.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that part of Oyetola’s efforts to “contain” the implication of this development is the tenure extension given to all the 30 local government chairmen in Osun state.

To beef up the move, SocietyNow.Ng gathered that the governor also requested reappointments of some commissioners and special advisers namely Giwa Latifat, Olaboopo Olubukola, Solagbade Oladepo, Henry Olaonipekun, Bakare Akande Aleem, and Olanike Omoworare.

“That is another strong play at strengthening the areas of influences of these individuals ” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Oyetola won the September 2018 Osun gubernatorial election by a narrow margin – after a run off was ordered – and primarily goes against a familiar foe, Demola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 16, 2022 election.