Dele Adeleke, an aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has explained why he is challenging his uncle, Ademola Adeleke, for the party’s ticket ahead of the Osun 2022 governorship election.
In an interview with Channels Television, Mr Adeleke said he is more competent than his uncle, who was the governorship candidate for PDP in 2018. He also said that being Senator Adeleke’s nephew should not hamper his aspiration to serve the people of the state.
He stated that running for a political office is more about competence than political alliances and, claiming to be the best candidate PDP can produce to challenge the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
“He (Sen. Adeleke) is also aware that I’m running,” he said, noting that his uncle was “shocked” when he informed him about his aspiration to jostle for the PDP’s governorship ticket.
Asked how long he had wanted to pick Osun governorship race, he said he began to nurse the political ambition when he started playing the “engine room role” in the political space of Osun and beyond.
In 2018, Mr Adeleke was the PDP’s Returning Officer during the gubernatorial election in the state. He had defended his uncle during the polls, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in courts after the elections.
“I believe all those have actually prepared me for the political landscape of the state,” he said.
He, however, said his aspiration is as a result of the “massive call to service from youth in Osun and different sectors across the state”. He also said some stakeholders have charged him not to shy away from “this social responsibility”.
“And these calls didn’t just start. These calls have been going for long and I have been saying no,” he said. “The truth is that prosperity is there to judge us.
