The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the just-concluded Osun State governorship election, Bola Oyebamiji, has appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful following his defeat at the poll.
Oyebamiji made the appeal after visiting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Oyebamiji said President Tinubu emphasised the importance of maintaining peace after the election.
“President Tinubu said it is important to run every election with a peaceful mind. It’s important for us to know that government is about people. And because it’s about people, it’s important that we need to be peaceful,” he said.
Oyebamiji also said the APC was still examining the outcome of the election before deciding on its next step.
“I want to appeal to our people in Osun that they need to be peaceful. For now, the APC is still examining the polls, and by the time we spread our sheet, we’ll be able to get back to the public about the decision we want to take. But the take-home is that they should be calm,” he added.
He also called on Governor Ademola Adeleke to prevail on his supporters to shun violence across the state.
“I want to advise the governor, too, to talk to his people. Violence is against our people. It’s not too good, and he needs to address them so that each and every one of us can be on the same page,” Oyebamiji said.
Reacting to the development, Adeleke commended Oyebamiji for his call for peace, describing it as “a positive tone after weeks of heated campaign and election season.”
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Friday, Adeleke said the call for peace was a good development for Osun people who experienced what he described as trauma and violence in the two months leading to the election.
The governor called for restraint among all political parties and said his administration had never subscribed to violence as a tool of political campaign, even when under pressure ahead of the election.
Adeleke also recounted the efforts he said he made to restrain his supporters from retaliating against attacks, alleging that Accord lost 15 members, while 20 others were injured and scores were detained by the police.
“I am forever a man of peace. It is heartwarming that my brother, Oyebamiji, is also preaching peace. I assure him that my supporters have not and will not attack APC members,” Adeleke said.
He added that the election was over and called on political leaders to focus on governance and the delivery of democratic dividends to the people of Osun State.
“Elections have come and gone and we are all winners. The common task for us all is to sustain delivery of democratic dividends and good governance to the good people of Osun State,” he said.
Adeleke also invited former governor Gboyega Oyetola, Oyebamiji and other opposition leaders to work with him for the development of the state.
“We are all important stakeholders in this Osun project,” the governor said.
Adeleke defeated Oyebamiji, Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other candidates in the election held last Saturday.
The election followed weeks of campaigns during which parties and candidates traded allegations and counter-allegations over violence and killings.
