Hours to Osun State governorship election campaign deadline, the state chapter of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lamented the denial of access to spacious facilities for its mega rally slated for Thursday, July 14, 2022.
Recall that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) held their mega rally to roundup their electioneering campaign at Osogbo township stadium on Tuesday.
Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Osogbo on Thursday, the caretaker chairman of the party, Dr. Akintunde Adekunle, regretted that all efforts to access convenient space for the gathering proved futile as the state government was adamant in its decision to deny PDP the facilities.
He disclosed that the party applied for three facilities namely, the township stadium, Mandela Freedom Park and Osun Technical College playing ground consecutively but Osun State government refused the applications.
“After due consultations with prominent stakeholders in the state, including our highly revered royal fathers, the leadership of our party decided to make do with the vicinity of our state secretariat for our Mega Rally.
“Our party considers the action of the state government as an affront of a dying horse and a deliberate attempt to provoke violent reactions from the good people of Osun State, thereby instigating crisis in the state. It is a shame and a dent on the noble race of Yoruba nation that a governor living at the mercy of tax payers money would find it convenient to descend so low,” Adekunle said.
The interim state party chairman, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to caution Governor Gboyega Oyetola not to brew crisis in Osun State and enjoined members and supporters of the party not to be discouraged by the defeatist antics of the Osun State government.
But reacting to the allegations earlier on Thursday while featuring on LEADERSHIP Online TV breakfast show, InsideNIGERIA, the chief press secretary (CPS) to the Governor Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan, denied the PDP allegations in its entirety.
Omipidan said the facilities in question were pre-booked by different groups in the State for different purposes for Thursday, hence they cannot be evicted from the venues because of the PDP having followed due process.
