Osun West By-election: Adeleke Picks PDP Ticket, Falade Emerges SDP Candidate

Hussein secures APC ticket

Yinka Kolawole

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has picked the younger brother of the late Isiaka Adeleke, Ademola, for the July 8 Osun West senatorial district byelection.

Ademola Adeleke emerged the PDP candidate yesterday with 343 votes when former Minister of Youth and Sports, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and Lt. Col. Olayiwola Talabi (rtd), stepped down for him.

Also at the APC primary held in Egbedore Local Government Area of the state, the sole aspirant, Senator Mudashir Hussein, won the election on the platform of the APC with 2,412 votes from 2,413 delegates.

Adeleke’s emergence became possible when two other contestants for the ticket, Olasunkanmi and Falabi, stepped down for him.

Ademola had earlier been screened and given clearance by the APC screening and election committee while Hussein who was the most preferred candidate of Governor Rauf Aregbesola was disqualified.

The National Working Committee ( NWC) of the party however upturned the report of the appeal committee which equally sustained the disqualification of Hussein.

The decision of the screening and appeal committee gave Ademola some suspicion that the primary might not be credible and transparent.

At this point, Ademola approached the PDP for screening and was cleared less than 24 hours to the party’s primary.

In Iwo where the PDP held its primary, Olasunkanmi and Falabi stepped down for Ademola after addressing the delegates.

While both Falabi and Olasunkanmi announced that they were stepping down, there was wild jubilation at the venue.

Olasunkanmi in his concession speech, said other aspirants as at yesterday decided to step down for him but he had to step down after calls from various quarters.

He said the party was promised that Osun west would produce the governorship candidate for the party next year.

Meanwhile, a former member of National Assembly, Hon. Bade Falade, has won Social Democratic Party (SDP) primary election ahead of the by-election.

Falade emerged the winner in the primary conducted yesterday in Iwo.

He pulled 15 votes to beat his closest challenger, Hon. Rasheed Adeyemo, who polled 12 votes.