Open Letter to Adeleke: Imposition of Former Caretaker Committee Members by The Leadership of Osun PDP is Self Suicidal

Following the recent leaked information that the leadership of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State is nursing sympathy for the former Caretaker Management Committee members across the State; I am writing to express my deep concern on behalf of party members across the length and breadth of Osun State about the implications of imposing candidates on the people in the scheduled local government elections. 

This undemocratic practice threatens to undermine the legitimacy of the election, disenfranchise the people, and perpetuate a culture of impunity. It is very funny and unfortunate that PDP leadership in Osun State has quickly forgotten that most Caretaker Management Committee Members across all local government in Osun State were selected based on reward for loyalty and specific settlements without considering their respective competence, capacity and acceptability to the majority of people in their respective communities.

The current indications through body language of political stakeholders in our ruling party has revealed that our party leadership has predetermined strategies in collaboration with Your Excellency that almost all Caretaker Management Committee members (especially all immediate former Caretakers Chairmen in Osun State) should all be returned as standard bearer during the scheduled local government election in Osun State! This has been revealed through perceived situation in Ife East, Ejigbo, Orolu, Irepodun, Osogbo, Ifelodun, Ayedaade among others. These can be summarily described as political self suicidal at a time that 2026 Governorship election in fast approaching.

There is no doubt party members across Osun State have been duly informed that party primary election will hold on 17th and 19th August, 2024 for Councillorship and Chairmanship positions respectively. However, the party leadership at the State level has been tactically devising means of avoiding real contest in accordance with democratic norms of PDP and stage managing arrangements of ensuring that all the former Caretaker Chairmen emerge without considering the popularity and acceptability of other aspirants in the guise of unnecessary sympathy for some past members of which most are unfit to represent the party.

These are foundation of evils that will translate to unforseen opportunities for the opposition in the following year after the 2025 scheduled local government must have been over. The perceived error of tactical imposition by the party leadership is not advisable and totally rejected, especially that opposition parties are consistently matching behind to cash out on inadequacies of our ruling party in Osun State.

Your Excellency, I need to make you aware that majority of party members and even the general public are alleging that all the immediate former Caretaker Chairmen across Osun State have successfully enticed the state party leadership with gratification in order to achieve their automatic returns and most people are sad that such is going without considering its effect on party membership management. The leadership of PDP in Osun State has had similar problem when late Hon. Ademola Razak (LANDERO) was the PDP State Chairman and we could all predicted what could have happened, even if former Governor Rauf Aregbesola did not win in court then.

Let me mention that our party leadership might be blindfolded that they can go away with such plan BUT I need to alert you that such avoidable error will definitely have grievous negative implications at the end when it will be too late and difficult to manage. The worst is that the time is not there for your good-self to access the real situation on ground! It is factual that tactical imposition of  candidates denies the people their fundamental right to choose their representatives, undermines accountability, and perpetuates poor governance. It also reinforces the perception that the ruling party is more interested in maintaining its grip on power than in serving the people.

Furthermore, this practice can lead to:- Voter apathy and low turnout during the scheduled local government election – Legitimacy crisis for the elected officials arising from current high-handedness of party leadership – Poor representation and unresponsive governance – Perpetuation of corruption and impunity- Undermining of democratic institutions and processes. Therefore, I urge Your Excellency to immediately caution the leadership of the Party in the State through the respective party Stakeholders across all local government areas not to tarnish your good image that was built over the years by ensuring that the local government election is free, fair, and credible.

This can ONLY be achieved when PDP is organized in such a way that acceptable and popular candidates are presented for election in their respective local government areas. I want Your Excellency to note that consequential sympathy of electorates for their beloved aspirants will be worse than undue sympathy of party leaders for their so-called anointed former Caretaker Chairmen across all local government in Osun State. PLEASE let the people choose their representatives without interference or imposition.

This is the only way to ensure that the elected officials are accountable to the people and that democracy is truly served. Your Excellency has suffered enough to have deserved the current victory than to allow such error to create unimaginable political setbacks. The fact is that people recognize the fact that most immediate former Caretaker Chairmen have their constitutional right to contest for political office but that should not be undue advantage over some popular candidates that are popular and have credible records of aspirations in the party in the past. It is good to have compensated anointed former candidates Caretaker Management members but it will be worse, risky and tantamount to tactical oppression if our popular candidates are suppressed in some area as it is as at now.

Finally, unsuspecting members of public, opposition and party members across Osun State are looking forward to see how the people’s Governor, Asiwaju Nurudeen Jackson Ademola Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun State and Osun State chapter of People’s Democratic Party leadership will avoid the pitfalls on tactical imposition of candidates during the scheduled local government election at a time that generality of Nigerians are keen on how the State Governors will administer during local government autonomy era. We are keenly watching.

Long Live Osun State!!

COMRADE IDOWU IBRAHIM, 
Ward 4, 
Osogbo Local Government,
Osogbo.