Osun Governorship: I Wasn’t Asked to Step Down, Says Speaker

By Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Dr. Najerm Salaam, has asserted that he has not abandoned his governorship aspiration as well as his advocacy for the zoning of governorship candidacy of his party to Osun West senatorial district.

He stated that he and other party leaders elected would deliberate on how political development would be devoid of tension and party decimation.

The Speaker met with critical stakeholders and leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) in company of the state Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and the state party Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun, to discuss issues of interest including political development in the state.

Salaam in a statement signed by his chief Press Secretary, Mr. Goke Butika, said it was not true that the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has ordered him to step down for any other person on his governorship ambition.

He asserted that he would rather quit politics for any other rewarding job than to compromise his principle on the ground of material inducement.

The Speaker therefore charged his political canvassers, associates and allies to ignore the “twisted” narrative on the social media that “falsely claimed he has abandoned his governorship ambition for any reason,” explaining that he will  brief stakeholders and the forum of the governorship aspirants from Osun West when he returns from leaser hajj about the development at the meeting.

According to him, “We have successful deliberations on some issues relating to political development, particularly the development in our party (APC) in our state at the Lagos meeting and I attended the meeting on my capacity as the Speaker of the state parliament not as governorship aspirant, and I owe it a duty to brief stakeholders, my campaign structure and the forum of Osun West governorship aspirants in which I was made to coordinate on the issues discussed when I return from leaser hajj.”

He also urged politicians and their supporters, particularly of the APC to thread softly on narrative that would spin on the social media, stressing that any effort capable of generating tension or violence or political brinkmanship in the state should be avoided in the interest of the people of the state.