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The Chairman, Media and Publicity of the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council, Honourable Remi Omowaiye, has dismissed allegations that the All Progressives Congress, (APC), is behind the recent arrests in Osun State, insisting that security agencies are acting against criminal suspects and not innocent citizens. He maintained that the party has no involvement in the arrests and urged the police to continue carrying out their constitutional duties without interference.
“We need to use this medium to commend the police for doing a good job. They are arresting people with weapons, and you are saying they are members of your party. They are not arresting innocent citizens; they are arresting people who are alleged to have killed innocent citizens, and they should allow the police to do their work. I want to tell you, we have no hand in this. We are the ones on the receiving end. It is members of our party that have been killed,” he underscored.
Omowaiye further alleged that some aides of Governor Ademola Adeleke were arrested over alleged criminal offences, insisting the arrests were based on evidence rather than politics. He also claimed the state government withdrew murder charges against some suspects who had been on trial for years.
“An appointee of the governor, Nurudeen Alawonle, was arrested in broad daylight with an English pistol by the police and the DSS. The SSA, one Arowolo Abiodun a.k.a. Asipa Abe, was arrested in the official quarters and in the personal house of the Secretary to the State Government just last week. This guy who was arrested was alleged to have killed one Sheriff Oyewole on the 28th of November, 2022. Over 30 members of our party have been killed. It is so unfortunate that you now see Governor Adeleke coming to lie to the outside world when we have evidence.
“Just yesterday night, another aide of the governor, whose video you have circulating online brandishing a gun, was arrested. This guy is called Oria. He is an aide of the governor. He was the one that led the fight between the Ede community and a neighboring community. This is the aide of the governor—you’ll see his picture everywhere brandishing ammunition. He was arrested yesterday. They are arresting criminals, and the governor is saying, ‘Don’t arrest them.’
“Let me also say this that will shock you: Do you know that there are some people facing trial for murder in the last 10 years, and the governor, through the Attorney General of the state, got all of them released? They withdrew charges against them. It will shock you that these guys have been undergoing murder trials in the last 10 years, some in the last seven years. Today, Governor Adeleke has freed them through the Attorney General—they withdrew charges against them, and they are terrorizing people. They are killing innocent Osun people,” he alleged.
Omowaiye also criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration, describing the forthcoming governorship election as a referendum on the governor’s performance. He alleged failures in the education and health sectors, questioned the state’s infrastructure spending, and claimed the administration had failed to deliver commensurate development despite significant allocations.
“The election is a referendum on Governor Adeleke’s last four years—almost three and a half years. Because he has failed woefully, he doesn’t want us to discuss how he has performed woefully in the last three and a half years. Governor Adeleke doesn’t want the whole world to know that the educational situation of Osun is in shambles. Governor Adeleke does not want the whole world to know that he sacked 1,500 teachers, and today the entire number of teachers in Osun is not up to the teachers in some local governments in neighboring states.
“Governor Adeleke does not want the whole world to know that he is building an airport with the longest runway at 130 billion Naira and awarded it to an interior decorator. Governor Adeleke doesn’t want the whole world to know that he brought an auditor to do a staff audit, and the auditor came and said, ‘Governor Adeleke, you are paying 13.7 billion Naira to ghost workers every year since you became governor.’
“Governor Adeleke doesn’t want the whole world to know that the Osun health sector is in shambles. He sacked doctors, and today, the National Record for Primary Healthcare Center came up with damning statistics showing that Osun has the highest number of abandoned primary healthcare centers in Southern Nigeria.
“Governor Adeleke does not want the whole world to know that 1 trillion Naira has accrued to him and he has not been able to show anything significant for this,” he alleged further.
Responding to questions on allegations of collusion with the police, Honourable Omowaiye denied any involvement by the APC, maintaining that security agencies were acting on criminal allegations rather than political considerations. He argued that those arrested or declared wanted were linked to alleged offences and urged the police to continue carrying out their duties without interference.
“This is not about federal might. Is it a crime for the police to arrest someone with ammunition? Is it a crime for the police to arrest someone that has been alleged to have committed murder? Is it a crime for the police to declare someone wanted? No innocent person is being arrested. So, we should allow the police to do their work. They will not come and arrest you; they will not come and arrest me if there is no allegation against us, if they have not found something incriminating against me,” he maintained.
Defending the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Omowaiye insisted that the police were carrying out their lawful duties by arresting individuals accused of criminal offences, not political opponents.
“We are glad that the people of Osun know the truth. The people of Osun are resolute to vote out the misrule of the Governor of Osun. So, I can tell you the CP is doing his job. I just told you they arrested someone again yesterday—not an innocent person, someone that was brandishing a weapon, someone that led his own town to fight against another town.
“So, the CP is doing his own work, and I don’t see them arresting anybody that is innocent. They are arresting criminals. The police have arrested some in the past; they jumped bail, and now the police are looking for them, and you are saying police are high-handed.”
Responding to questions on whether the APC had submitted evidence to security agencies, Omowaiye said the party, affected families and civil society groups had filed several petitions over alleged killings and other crimes. He maintained that the cases were backed by evidence and urged security agencies to be allowed to carry out their investigations.
“Not only that the APC has submitted—the family of Oyewole Sheriff came out; they had a press conference a few days ago, and they said the person that allegedly killed their son has been arrested in the SSG’s quarters. The police must not free the person. We have written several petitions, civil society has written several petitions, several individuals have written several petitions. Those killed are members of various families; they have written petitions.
“There’s a petition I even had the opportunity to see yesterday, which we showed the whole world: someone defiled a 5-year-old girl, and he was arrested and was being prosecuted, and Governor Adeleke secured his release. This is criminal. We have asked the family of those concerned to also go to the public so that they won’t say it is APC. It is not about APC; it’s about people being killed, and justice must be carried out.
“We’ve written several petitions, civil society has written several petitions, families have written several petitions. Also, those arrested, there have been several petitions and evidence against them. If you want us to even produce further evidence, we’ll produce evidence. These things are in the public domain, so it’s not that we hate Governor Adeleke. It’s not that we have a problem with him. We are just saying that the security agencies should be allowed to do their job,” he stressed.
Addressing questions over the release of the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Teslim Igbalaye, Omowaiye said the decision did not invalidate ongoing police investigations, insisting that law enforcement agencies should be allowed to conclude their work.
“A criminal that has been on the wanted list, that has been alleged to have killed someone November 28th, 2022, in broad daylight, was arrested in the SSG’s house. And we know what the law says about aiding a fugitive or harboring a fugitive. So, for the mere fact that the police released him because his SSG status—that doesn’t mean they won’t continue with their investigation, so we should not mix this up. The guy arrested, who is the principal suspect, who has been arrested by the police, has not been released. So, if the police now feel later that they want to press charges against the SSG for harboring someone that has been on the wanted list for murder, that is left for the police. It has nothing to do with us,” he said.
He also defended the handling of criminal cases by the police before shifting focus to criticisms of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration, alleging poor governance and questionable contract awards.
“When a petition comes against you from—or a petition is sent to the IG, the IG can decide to do the investigation himself. If you send a petition to the DIG, Force Headquarters—don’t forget that families of those killed are spread across the country. So, it is left for the police. What is important is they are wanted criminals, and the police have arrested them.
“The focus should be what has the governor done in the last four years? What are we doing differently? Governor Adeleke awarded a flyover called Owode-Ede to a company registered to trade daily for iron and steel, and the bridge started collapsing two weeks after it was commissioned. A lantern project was awarded to a cleaner and fertilizer supplier. It was commissioned last week, they have started repairing that portion. What I expect us to focus on now is: Governor Adeleke spent 92 billion Naira in the Government House on dining and wining,” he alleged.
On concerns over the APC’s commitment to the peace accord, Omowaiye said the party was duly represented by its deputy governorship candidate, who signed the agreement on behalf of the joint ticket. He insisted the APC remained committed to a peaceful election, adding that its governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, had repeatedly stated that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Osun resident.
“The candidate of our party was absent. The deputy governorship candidate of our party was present, and it’s a joint ticket. Once the deputy governorship candidate is present and has signed the peace accord, I don’t think there should be a fuss on this. For us, we are committed to a peaceful election. Bola Oyebamiji has said clearly that his ambition is not worth anybody’s blood,” he said.
Responding to claims that all sides had faced violence, Honourable Omowaiye rejected any equivalence, insisting that APC members were the primary victims. He maintained that the party’s allegations were backed by evidence and reiterated that the APC would continue to focus its campaign on governance, its manifesto and what he described as the shortcomings of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.
“Let us not paint this as if there’s an allegation from the both sides. We are the ones on the receiving end. The National Party Chairman said that. So, we shouldn’t make it look as if it is a counter-allegation. No, this is evidence of fact. This is not a counter-allegation. This is fact from our side. So, it is not that we have an issue with him.
“But I’ve told you from day one, what Governor Adeleke wants to achieve is for us to just be discussing, to be pushing back and forth, and not concentrate on the campaign. We have told you from day one, our campaign will be issue-based. And that’s why we’re seriously campaigning to the people, because Governor Adeleke has made the campaign easy for us. He has failed the people of Osun. He has performed woefully, very badly. So, it makes the campaign very easy for us. And we are not leaving any stone unturned. We are campaigning on our manifesto, our agenda, and we are telling people what we will do differently. We are telling people how the governor has failed, and I’m glad that they know,” he stated.
Highlighting the APC’s agenda, Omowaiye said a Bola Oyebamiji administration would prioritise prudent management of state resources, equitable infrastructure development, improvements in education and healthcare, and industrialisation.
He also pledged that government contracts would be awarded transparently and based on competence, while promising to implement policies guided by the needs of Osun residents.
“Number one, the candidate of our party will ensure that the resources of Osun are used judiciously. My party candidate will ensure that the resources are managed judiciously.
“Another damning revelation is: for infrastructural things that the governor has done, 71% of the funds on infrastructure have been spent in the governor’s hometown, which is just two local governments, as against the remaining 28 local governments in Osun. It is so bad that the federal constituency where Oyebamiji comes from, less than 1% has been spent on infrastructure by the governor. Osogbo, which is the state capital, and others—Ife, Ilesa, Ede, Ikirun—just 26%. So, my candidate will ensure that resources are evenly spent.
“And my candidate will also ensure that the educational system that is in shambles—the number of teachers put together is less than teachers in some local governments in Nigeria, so we are going to make sure that we recruit teachers, and we’ll get more teachers, and we will make sure that our educational system becomes the best in the country.
“My governorship candidate will pay so much attention to healthcare delivery. Today, industrialization is zero in Osun. My governorship candidate will ensure that he will handle industrialization without parity. Industrial parks will be developed.
“Under my governorship candidate, we are not going to award construction projects, infrastructure projects to unregistered companies or fertilizer suppliers that are being corruptly executed in Osun. Bola Oyebamiji will not award infrastructure projects to interior decorators or printing and folding companies. Lastly, we have done a needs assessment of the citizens, and we are going to ensure that we follow the needs assessment of the citizens fully and to the letter, with the support of the people of Osun,” he pledged.
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