The Speaker of the Osun House of Assembly, Hon. Adewale Egbedun on Tuesday led a group of lawmakers to the venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary.
Their arrival sparked chaos, even though the exercise had already been concluded and most delegates had left the premises.
Egbedun and the lawmakers moved into the Adolak Event Centre in Osogbo shortly after the primary ended. They were accompanied by several government officials and aides.
Their entry immediately disrupted the atmosphere, with some of the aides clashing with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Witnesses told POLITICS NIGERIA that the confrontation started when the Speaker confronted the Osun INEC Public Relations Officer, Musa Olurode. The disagreement escalated quickly, and the Speaker’s aides were seen rough-handling the official.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Akinyode Oyewusi, openly condemned the scuffle and instructed the aides to stop using him as a shield during the confrontation.
Egbedun later stormed into one of the halls, voicing his anger over the conduct of the primary and questioning the decision to hold such a process in Osun at a time the state’s political atmosphere was tense following Governor Ademola Adeleke’s reported defection.
While addressing journalists outside the venue, the Speaker issued a warning to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over what he described as undue interference. He insisted that Osun would not serve as a political platform for external ambitions.
According to him, “I am the Speaker of Osun; I am a leader in my state and in the PDP. We were on the floor of the house when we received calls that some people were here (Adolak) all the way from Oyo State to come just to have a vote that we call a drama.”
He stressed that his membership of the PDP was never in doubt, saying he personally contested and won his election in 2023 under the party.
Egbedun added that lawmakers were earlier informed that a congress would hold, only to later receive a counter-message that it had been postponed.
He continued, “This is a message to Gov. Seyi Makinde: if he is desperate to become president come 2027, he should use another state as a tool, not Osun State. We are bona fide PDP members; we have 25 House of Assembly members, 5 Rep members, and senators.
“For a governor from another state to come to our state to dictate to us, we won’t take that. This is a message to everybody that we won’t take this anymore. They came here to do what I can call a drama, and this will be the end of it.”
The dramatic scene adds to the rising tension within the PDP in the Southwest, especially after recent developments surrounding Governor Adeleke’s defection from the People’s Democratic Party PDP, and the deepening rift between Osun and Oyo chapters of the party.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.