UPDATE: How Omisore emerged Osun PDP governorship candidate

A former deputy governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, has been declared winner of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries in the state.

Mr. Omisore, who is also a former senator, defeated Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, a former Minister of Youth Development; and Oluwole Oke, a former member of House of Representatives to win the party ticket.

Mr. Omisore was announced on Saturday as winner of the primaries by the chairman of the Organising Committee, Adamu Aliero, a former governor of Kebbi State.

Mr. Aliero said Mr. Omisore polled 1,128 votes to beat Mr. Akinlabi, who polled 35 votes and Mr.  Oke, who got five votes.

Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of the state, had on Friday withdrawn from the contest.

Mr. Aliero said that 18 void votes were recorded in the election.

He advised the aspirants to come together and rally round the candidate in the interest of the party.

“The PDP is one big family and we should all pull resources together to ensure victory for the party in all elections.

“I want to thank all the delegates who participated in the election for their good conduct and sportsmanship,’’ Mr. Aliero said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the party in Osun, AGani OlaOluwa, said it was determined to make the primary generally acceptable to all the stakeholders.

“With the successful conduct of the primary, the party is in a better stead ahead of the general elections,” Mr. OlaOluwa said.

In an interview with journalist after the declaration, Mr. Omisore said he was humbled by the outcome of the election.

“The next step is to reach out to my brothers who also participated in the race; this victory is for us all. The party will be made stronger through sincere reconciliation in the interest of all.

“The party will explore all democratic means to win the general election. We will not be provoked to violence,” Mr. Omisore said.

There was a heavy presence of security personnel drawn from the police, civil defence, road safety and State Security Service during the election.

Mr. Omisore is from Ile-Ife in Osun State and represented Osun East, made up of Ife and Ilesha, in the Senate from 2003 to 2011 on the PDP ticket.

Before then, he was deputy governor on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy between 1999 and 2002, when Bisi Akande was governor of the state.

Mr. Akande is now the acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC; the ruling party in Osun.

In 2002, Mr. Omisore was accused of being responsible for the murder of Bola Ige, then Nigeria’s Attorney General and Justice Minister, who was murdered in his Ibadan home on December 23, 2001. Mr. Ige was from Ilesha.

Mr. Omisore was detained for almost two years and won his 2003 senatorial election while in prison. He was eventually cleared by the court and freed.

Mr. Omisore is expected to be the main opponent to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the APC in the August 9 governorship election in the state.