Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke is under fire for withdrawing the official vehicles of market women that attended the presidential rally of the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Osogbo.
The Nation reports that the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign rally was held at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo on February 2, 2023.
The market women including their leaders attended the rally.
All the official vehicles of the women across the 30 local government council areas of Osun State and the Area Office were subsequently withdrawn by the government.
It was gathered that the state government officials in the company of police operatives and some civilians forcefully retrieved the vehicles from the women.
The Iyaloja General, Chief Awawu Asindemade, confirmed the development to our correspondent.
She disclosed that the official vehicles withdrawn by the Adeleke administration were given to the women by the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Asindemade said: “We are not a bastard, we attended the rally of Tinubu in Osun State; it is our choice and we have the right to it. We back Tinubu’s presidency, it is our turn. We have lost the chance for 60 years running now; he will emerge by God’s grace.
“The present government of Osun met us in the state; we worked with his elder brother (Isiaka Adeleke) who was the governor. They did not collect the official vehicles of other unions but they collected ours.
“We work with the government of the day; I attended the swearing-in programme of Adeleke and several programmes of the new government.
“Before they got to power, they created several factions of their market women that they are now recognising. He will not be the first to be the governor and not the last, history will always be there.”
The leadership of APC, Osun State through its Acting-Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal described the withdrawal of the vehicles as insensitive, inconsiderate and vindictive.
Meanwhile, the caretaker chairman of PDP, Dr. Adekunle Akindele, in a statement, said that they should not be dragged into the “market women union tussle”, saying, “It is a bid to seek sympathy.”