Accuses Governor of Turning Condolence Visit to Campaign Ground
- Safiu Kehinde
The Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, accusing him of turning his condolence visit to the family of the murdered 14-year-old boy, Ezekiel Olopade, into a campaign ground for his re-election bid.
NPO Reported that Adeleke had yesterday paid a visit to Ilobu town in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state where Ezekiel was shot dead by suspected political thugs.
While condoling the family of the deceased teenager, the governor frowned at the spate of violent attacks ahead of the August election while reaffirming his stand for peace.
He assured Osun residents of his administration’s commitment in overcoming the challenges with the people’s support.
Adeleke was however reported to have expressed confidence in emerging winner at the forthcoming election.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the Osun APC accused Adeleke of turning the condolence visit to the parents of the bereaved in Ilobu to a campaign ground.
The APC expressed disappointment with the governor’s mention of his re-election bid during the condolence visit.
“Such an occasion for strictly mourning the young lad was inappropriate for Governor Adeleke to have turned it to a campaign ground as it could be likened to the state chief executive doing the wrong thing at the wrong time and wrong place which is the reason he has been getting so many things wrong since the inception of his administration.
“It was even saddening that a supposed chief state executive should make an allusion to the phoney attack on his son which the police investigation had since found out to be a falsehood and mere fabrication which was only existing in the imagination of the son of the governor.
“In the Adeleke campaign speech in the residence of the bereaved parents of Ezekiel Olapade, the governor was quoted as saying among other things that “… we are not afraid as we remain resolute in our re-election bid. We are a courageous people; we cannot be silenced.
“We hold our heads high as we seek the support of our people. We will vote and by God’s grace, I shall be re-elected”, the governor stated in his campaign message during his condolence visit.
“It was absurd that the chief executive having blood flowing in his veins and knows his administrative onions could consider it wise and appropriate to have turned the condolence visit of a fallen teenager to a campaign ground.” Olabisi wrote.
The Osun APC also accused Adeleke of bypassing the police by declaring the party suspect while investigation is still ongoing.
Recall that the assailants were alleged to have carried out the attack with a branded vehicle bearing the APC logo and its candidate for the August governorship election, Bola Oyebamiji.
While failing to confirm or debunk the allegation, the APC however slammed Adeleke for also pushing the narratives of the party being responsible for the attack.
“Having an insight into the obvious and the visible pathological challenges of the governor, one wonders what those saddled with the responsibility of managing him are up to as their client had exposed their negligence in his usual characteristic again where he strangely chose to be metaphorically digging the gutter when the house was on fire.
“It didn’t add up and unexpected of a worthy chief executive to have bypassed the police in their investigation when he named the opposition party as being responsible for the killing.
“What else does the accidental governor want the police to investigate when the governor has labelled a suspect before the police investigation in this regard?” The Osun APC stated.
The party accused Adeleke of assuming the role of the police with the allegation as it called on the governor to address the escalating rate of violent criminal activities in the state.
“It was even the display of the highest level of executive confusion when the same Governor Adeleke stated during his supposed campaign visit to the bereaved family of the deceased that he had instructed the police to investigate the crime; the same police that his deregistered Accord Party has denied an audience of meeting in the efforts of the state police command to profer a lasting solution to the violent political activities preceding the forthcoming 15th August, 2026 governorship election in Osun State.
“It was appalling that the governor frivolously assumed the role of the police by giving innuendoes suggesting the killing was from the opposition.
“Governor Adeleke should sit up for once, give quality governance that would guarantee the constitutional protection of the lives and property of the people of the state that he swore to protect during the inauguration of his administration over three years ago.
“The escalating rate of violent criminal activities in the state since the inception of the Governor Adeleke administration grossly epitomises the monumental failure of his administration in all ramifications particularly in the area of security.” The APC stated.