Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has paid a surprise congratulatory visit to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, following his victory in the state governorship election.
Obasanjo visited Adeleke in Ede on Sunday, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the governor the winner of the keenly contested election.
During the meeting, the former president urged Adeleke to remain focused on good governance and continue to put the interests of the people first.
The former president also prayed for Adeleke and his administration. He asked the governor to use the fresh mandate to improve the lives of residents across Osun State.
“Continue to deliver good governance. Continue to meet the needs of your people,” Obasanjo charged the governor.
The visit came at a important moment for Adeleke, who had just secured another four-year term in office.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that INEC declared the governor the winner after the completion of the collation of results from across the state.
Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, recorded 511,067 votes.
His closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes.
The result put Adeleke ahead by 66,252 votes.
The victory means Adeleke will remain in office for another four years after securing the mandate of voters in the election.
The governor received the former president with appreciation. Adeleke said he was surprised by the visit and thanked Obasanjo for taking the time to personally congratulate him.
He also expressed gratitude to God and the people of Osun State for the outcome of the election.
“Baba, I thank you for this surprise visit. I promise never to disappoint God, the Osun people and all lovers of democracy who made our victory possible,” Adeleke said.
Adeleke had campaigned on his record in office and repeatedly asked voters to allow his administration to continue with its development programmes.
The governor had also presented the election as an opportunity for residents to decide whether his administration deserved another term.
His re-election now gives him additional time to pursue his programmes in infrastructure, healthcare, education, workers’ welfare and other areas.
However, this is not the first time former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been relating with Governor Ademola Adeleke.
On March 23, 2019, Obasanjo publicly reacted to the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s decision which had declared Adeleke the winner of the 2018 governorship election.
At the time, Adeleke was challenging the outcome of the election through the legal process after the Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the APC candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, the winner.
The tribunal later ruled in favour of Adeleke and nullified the earlier result. Reacting to the judgment, Obasanjo praised the tribunal and described the decision as a step towards protecting the will of Osun voters.
In a statement issued from Dubai on March 2019, Obasanjo said he had received the news of the tribunal’s decision and commended the judicial officers for their action.
“Let me take this opportunity to commend the tribunal for its courage in nullifying what was clearly an illegality,” he said.
Obasanjo also praised Adeleke for choosing the courts rather than abandoning the electoral dispute.
He said, “Let me also commend Sen. Adeleke for his statesmanship in going to court to seek justice.”
According to the former president, seeking redress through legal channels was the proper approach in a democratic society.
“This is the right and proper thing to do in any decent society. Going to court must be encouraged and not discouraged as some people are now attempting to do,” Obasanjo said.
