I spent N140 million in 2003 election on party agents, not vote-buying – Osoba

A former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, on Thursday said he disbursed N140 million to party agents across the state during the 2003 general election.

Mr Osoba spoke when the editorial board of Penpushing Media paid him a courtesy call at his residence located in Government Reservation Area (GRA), Ibara, Abeokuta., the state capital.

A national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osoba, who was the incumbent governor in that election, lost to Gbenga Daniel of the Peoples Democratic Party.

He said that the explanation became necessary following insinuations from some quarters that the money was meant to buy votes.

“The N140 million was meant for party agents’ fee and not for buying votes as some may insinuate. There was no buying of votes during that time. The money was purely for payment of party agents,” Mr Osoba said.

He insisted that he was rigged out of office, but added that he has since put behind him the controversial election, just as he called on journalists to join in the fight against fake news.

The former governor also pointed out that many bloggers contributed to the spread of fake news, hence the need for professionals to rise up to the challenges of addressing the menace before it caused further havoc for the profession.

The Chairman Editorial Board of Penpushing media, Funke Fadugba, earlier in her speech said the visit by the team was to rejoice with Mr Osoba over a successful knee operation, and wish him adequate recovery.

“As our father and leader in the profession, we thought it necessary to visit you, and rejoice with you after successful knee operations. We pray that God will perfect the healing. We are always proud of you as (a) mentor to many of us, and pray that God will spare your life to do more,” Ms Fadugba said.