A civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, TOM, has condemned the statement credited to Kazeem Akinleye, the Chief Of Staff to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.
DAILY POST gathered that Akinleye who was speaking at a public forum in the ancient town of Ede on Saturday stated that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would employ all possible means to secure Adeleke’s victory in the 2026 election.
He warned that it would be better for the members of the APC in the town who would not cast their votes for Adeleke to instantly relocate to Cotonou in the Republic of Benin
The Chief of Staff stated that any Ede native or resident who could not appreciate the level of the development that Adeleke has attracted to the ancient town is not worthy to be in Ede during the period of the 2026 governorship election.
Condemning the statement during a question and answer session at the TOM December 2024 State of the State address on Monday in Osogbo, a member, Wole Oladapo, warned that the statement was inciting and could lead to anarchy.
He also warned that no Nigerian had the power to threaten another because the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom for citizens to live anywhere in the country.
He said, “No Nigerian, no matter how highly placed has the power to threaten another Nigerian and force them to leave where they are domiciled while the constitution guarantees them the right to live anywhere in the country as a citizen
“We condemn the threat by the Chief of Staff to the Osun State Governor during a PDP ward meeting in Ede on Saturday.”
He also warned politicians against heating up the polity as the state gears up towards the 2026 gubernatorial election.
“We are sounding this note of warning as we go into the year 2025, a year before the 2026 gubernatorial election in the state that we do not want anybody that will heat up the polity.
“We have been enjoying some relative peace ever since some miscreants have been taken away from the state and we expect that this peace and tranquility will be enjoyed till the election holds in 2026.
“The statement from the chief of staff is capable of hitting up the polity and causing anarchy, it is capable of disturbing the peace which we currently enjoy.
“We condemn it outrightly and we want to sound a nite of warning across to everyone; citizens, public office holders, political officers holders in whatever political party that the peace and tranquility we enjoy in Osun State is non negotiable and is sacrosanct and we will not trade it for anything either utterances or actions by anyone under whatever outcome as we go into the new year.”
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, said it is a pity that a ranking political functionary of the calibre of the Chief Of Staff to Governor Adeleke could descend so low to instigate violence with reference to the forthcoming 2026 governorship election.
In a statement issued by Kola Olabisi, the Osun APC Director of Media and Information, the party said the quality of the tirade from the Adeleke’s Chief of Staff is a pointer to the fact that Akinleye is not only a misfit but a source of a monumental embarrassment and a disgrace to democratic ideal which allows choice of political association.
Osun APC also appealed to the State Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Department of State Security(DSS) not to treat the threat of violence against the opposition by Akinleye with levity but invite, investigate and prosecute the chief of staff.
Defending Akinleye, Governor Adeleke in a statement through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said there was no reason for threats as the support and goodwill his administration is enjoying in the state is massive.
He said, “At no time did the Governor or the Chief of Staff threaten violence as there is no reason to do so in view of the incredible level of support and goodwill the current administration is enjoying in Osun state.”
Adeleke who said he is a man of peace who did not raise a finger when he was electorally robbed in 2018 disclosed that the Chief of Staff is a widely known peace loving political strategist who peacefully schemed alongside others for the APC’s defeats in the last elections.
The governor called on security agencies to ignore the false alarm raised by the Osun APC.
He stressed that the state government’s functionaries have been advocating for free and fair polls and the need for people to protect their votes.