By Banji Ayoola
Governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who lost the party’s primary to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, have teamed up, pledging to work for his re-election.
They made the pledge in Akure on Sunday at a meeting of the party’s Advisory Council, which was presided over by the party’s National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, represented by former APC National Vice Chairman, South West, Chief Paul Akintelure.
Akeredolu had won the APC primary with a wide margin of 2,458 votes while his closet rival Chief Olusola Oke got 262 votes.
Former aspirants at the meeting were Chief Segun Abraham and Hon Isaacs Kekemeke.
Other party chieftains present included Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Hon B.I Idowu, Chief Bode Summonu, Bankole Oluwajana Esq, Mr Tayo Oluwatuyi,
Dr. Paul Akintelure, Prof. Bayonle Ademodi, and APC state chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin among others.
Kekemeke, also a former Secretary to the State Government and ex State Chairman of the party, addressed journalists after the meeting, saying they all decided to work for success of the party at the October 10 governorship polls.
He promised that they would deliver massive votes for Akeredolu’s re-election, saying: “We have resolved that we have no other party than the APC. We have no other candidate than Akeredolu.
“We have decided to bury our differences and work for the victory of our party. What you are going to see form today is a bigger party. A re-engineered APC.
“All internal cleavages in our party have been put to rest. It is our party and we have one candidate. We are ready. We are united and we have resolved it work together in unison.”
Kekemeke said the meeting was a clear demonstration that leaders of the party in the state have returned from the battle field to work together. He said they have all decided to work together as a party so that they can jointly win both the local government and Governorship election together.
He said:”We have decided that our party is bigger than all of us. We have applauded the Governor for his address today wherein he titled a new beginning. We have a bigger party. It can only be better.
“We, as stakeholders have resolved to appeal to our candidate that all internal cleavages are resolved.”
He said the unity in the party is the beginning of what the people of the state should expect, stressing that the party is ready and prepared to win the coming elections.
His words: “We have resolved to work together for our victory in the August 22nd, local government election and the October 10 governorship election. We will win better than we have ever won before.”
Earlier, Akeredolu called for a new beginning where party cohesion and unity would be the watchword with the ingredients of democratic enterprise inculcated and imbibed.
The Governor appreciated all his co-contestants, elders and leaders of the party both at the State and at the National levels, especially the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR, National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Mai Mala Buni, the Governor of Yobe State and others.
He also appealed to all aggrieved members of the party to bury the hatchet.
Following is the full text of his speech at the meeting:
“I give glory to God Almighty Who has made it possible for all of us to be here today and the rare privilege to address this gathering of eminent personalities and stakeholders of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
To say that it has been long that we had this kind of gathering is an understatement. It is my hope that it will henceforth be a regular exercise.
Needless to aver that we have had to confront a lot of challenges in the last three and half years that we have been in the saddle in Ondo State. This is as a result of both avoidable and unavoidable reasons.
We do realise that no matter how transparent, accessible and well-intentioned we might be, for various reasons and interests, we still have to contend with opposing views from time to time. This, of course, is the beauty of democracy.
All of us, I repeat, all of us are critical to the next face of our political journey in Ondo State APC which is the safe harbour of winning the 2020 Gubernatorial Election. Anything that will further diminish our cohesion must be set aside.
Unfortunately, no matter the strength of the Governor, having great challenges can cause massive distractions, despite the fact that our party and indeed our government have been generally acknowledged as having done well in the State. Our strength, like a chain, is a function of our weakest link. Never, again shall we experience disequilibrium in our Party.
Let me at this juncture express my sincere appreciation to all my co-contestants, elders and leaders of our party both at the State and at the National levels, especially the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR, our National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Caretaker Committee under the able leadership of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, the Governor of Yobe State and others too numerous to mention herein for their efforts, advice, sacrifices and resources, generously deployed to ensure that we had a peaceful primary election and by extension a united party.
Let me also thank profusely, the Party’s Reconciliation Committee on Ondo led by Niger State Governor, His Excellency, Abubakar Sani Bello that visited our State before the primary election. The committee’s intervention had done a lot in ensuring that we had a peaceful APC primary election in Ondo State. We will continue to build on this initiative. This success of our exercise has brought deep consternation to the naysayers and doomsday commentators, who had expected the exercise to turn violent, vengeful and inconclusive.
We cannot but thank God for this rare feat despite some pockets of misgivings which underscore the eternal aphorism that no human undertaking can be perfect. In spite of all these, I can say without fear of equivocation that we have come out much stronger and are getting stronger by the day. It is obvious that all of us have unquenchable loyalty and intense love for the ideals espoused by our dear party.
Before now, our disunity or lack of cohesion had robbed us of many advantages, which included our poor showings in the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly Elections. This is, however, not the appropriate time to apportion blames, as all of us have a responsibility to make things work better and ensure unity in our party, going forward, even though this situation is not peculiar to us in Ondo State. It is a feature of any strong and big party like ours. We saw the merit in unity during the 2019 House of Assembly Elections when, against all odds, we won overwhelmingly.
We will like to appeal to all to bury the hatchet and come together. APC is the only party we can call our own. Of a truth, this is where we rightly belong. This is where we can find expression for our ambitions, without let or hindrance. I, therefore, enjoin all of us to sheathe our sword and forgive one another with a view to working for the resounding success of our party in the October 10, 2020 Gubernatorial Election. Let us join hands together with the leadership of our party at the National and State levels to make sure that our party remains strong to win all elections in the State: Local, State and Federal.
In the spirit of genuine reconciliation, I am happy to report to you that I have been meeting with my co-contestants in the recent primary election of our party and their responses have been encouraging. It is apparent that they exude the interest and progress of our Party. We, therefore, implore all aggrieved members to put the past behind us and work for the success of our party.
Let me appeal to all our party leaders that the time has come for all of us to rise up to the challenges of our party. We will need to turn our challenges to
springboards for a leap forward, to a greater height.
Dear good party men and women, let me appeal that all structures of the party must be made more active forthwith. Our party Executive Committees from the State to the Unit levels must come alive and functional. Our elders must take their rightful place and work as a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More).
I call for a new beginning where party cohesion and unity will be our watchword, where all the ingredients of democratic enterprise will be inculcated and imbibed. Persuasion, negotiation and consensus-building should be the hallmark of the new improved All Progressives Congress in Ondo State. It must be emphasised that we have a lot to benefit as long as our party remains in government in Ondo State.
No doubt, our administration has worked well for the people of this State in the last three and half years, of which we should all be proud. This is not to say that there is no room for improvement. We will do more in our second term both in physical development of the State and in the welfare of our members.
We assure you that we have learnt a lot in the last few years and the next four years can only be better for our party members and indeed for our people. Like our Party Symbol, the broom, no man can break us in our unity of purpose and resolve to move forward to a more prosperous dispensation.
In conclusion, I thank all of us for making ourselves available for this meeting and for believing in our great Party and our leadership. Let us continue to believe in our Party as I am sure that better days are ahead for us.
I thank you for listening.”
