Following the validation of his election in last year’s election as the governor of Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke has pledged to govern the state in the interest of all the citizens of the state irrespective of political, religious, or any other differences.
Besides, the governor, who also pledged to be fair to all during his tenure, said that he has forgiven all those who fought him and whoever might have offended him during the electioneering and the tension-soaked struggle to reclaim his victory at the governorship election.
He made the pledges on Thursday during a thank-you-visit to the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olaonipekun, Larooye II; and the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, Laminisa 1, on after the Supreme Court reaffirmed his election.
Adeleke said: “I have forgiven all those who might have offended me during the struggle to assume the leadership of the state. I am now governor for all. For those who didn’t vote for me, I have no grudge against them. That’s the beauty of democracy. I have forgiven all those that offended me in our quest to serve our people.
“The goal now is how to move Osun forward. We have the authority and power now. We will use it justly for the progress of this state and the welfare of the people.
“Even though some went overboard, engaged in an overbearing attitude, and were destructive towards the cause that we believed in. All those have now been left behind. The victory God granted us has overwhelmed whatever anybody might have done to me in the past. The goal now is how to move Osun forward.”
He praised the two monarchs for playing a huge fatherly role in the governorship project by standing as a pillar of support for him and his family.
The governor assured the monarchs in their different palaces that he would not disappoint the trust the people had reposed in him and would continue to strive to make Osun better than he met it with infrastructural development springing up across the state.
His words: “They initially said that most of the projects we embarked on when we started our administration were because of the 2023 general election; but interestingly, we’ve never stopped delivering on projects in the state so far.
“I want to assure our royal fathers and the good people of Osun that distraction is over. We will not disappoint you. We have the authority and power now, we will use it justly for the progress of this state and the welfare of the people.”
In his remarks, the Ataoja of Osogbo Oba Jimoh Olaonipekun said that given what he called the sound footing Adeleke had started his administration, he has given a clear signal of a departure from the past and a brilliant outcome of what to expect.
He said: “You have started your administration brilliantly and I am impressed with the steps you are taking each day in the delivery of good governance for the people of our state. With my royal authority, I hereby endorse you for another term in office and continuity of the government you are heading in the state.”
Also, the Laminisa of Ede, the governor’s hometown, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal offered praises to the Almighty for Adeleke’s eventual victory. He extended the appreciation of the Ede people to all Osun and national stakeholders for their strong backing for his son, Adeleke.
The royal father who recalled the tough battle and enormous sacrifice of many loyalists and admirers of the Governor said that for 12 years, he was blacklisted at the state level as a PDP traditional ruler. He thanked the Lord for the final outcome.
Oba Lawal pledged that he would constantly be reminding the governor of the promises made to the people as he wants to be the father of a governor that will spend eight years in office in the delivery of good governance.
