Buhari Endorses Akeredolu As APC Guber Candidate Ahead of Ondo Election
The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong disclosed this to State House correspondents after he formerly unveiled the candidate before the president in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This is even as Akeredolu assured that his rift with the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu has been resolved between them.?Lalong who is the chairman of the APC campaign committee for Ondo election boasted that APC would win the election just as it did in Kogi and Edo, disclosing that all internal issues within the party that may affect it in the election had been resolved. ?He said: “A few weeks ago, I was given the responsibility of leading the campaign on behalf of the National Executive for the Ondo election. And the candidate since election at the primaries has not come to be presented to the leader of our party that is Mr President. So, today we came in with the candidate and to confirm to the president that APC has only one candidate unlike other parties that are fighting about who is their candidate. We have only one candidate and that candidate is Chief Akeredolu Rotimi (SAN)”.
Asked the President’s response, Lalong said, “Well Mr. President is a loyal party man so he is answerable to the party although the president of Nigeria. He has also confirmed that he has seen the candidate and is also praying for a successful election in Ondo state.”
On the crisis trailing the party in the state, the governor said, “Well, that is not a problem to APC, since inception. You knew what happened in Kogi, you knew what happened in Edo, we won the elections. It was as if it was going to be very difficult for us but we won the election.?”Today again, we are going into Ondo. All the mistake we made in other states we have corrected them. We are seeing a very smooth election, not only a smooth election but the credibility of the candidate itself is something worth selling. We know definitely we are going the election”.
The governor also faulted last Friday’s visit of Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko to the president, saying it was unnecessary to drag the president to PDP issues. ?”Let me say it was even wrong for them to start running to Mr President to help them solve the problem of PDP in their party. Mr. President is the President of Nigeria and he is not a member of PDP even when we have problems in APC we don’t run to Mr President. If he has a problem in his state. He is the governor, let him stay there and resolve the matter.?”It’s a matter between PDP and PDP and those matters are in court. So, why should you run to the President? Is the President the chief judge of Nigeria? He is not the INEC chairman either”, he said.?Also speaking, Akeredolu, said that victory would be theirs in the election.?Reminded that the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was not happy with his candidacy, Akeredolu replied, “l can always tell you, people who know me, they know that I talk most times with some confidence. Let me assure you here that by the grace of God, we will win the election in Ondo state.?”I don’t have any rift with him. Since the primaries you would see that as leaders of the party, he has not said anything about it. He has accepted the primaries and we are moving on. So, I don’t have any rift with him at all and we are moving on.?”I can assure you I would have been happier facing both of them together. If Eyitayo Jegede was chosen as candidate and Ibrahim as his deputy, I will still win. In fact, Jegede happens to be a friend, Ibrahim too. Jimoh Ibrahim went to Ife. So, we have known ourselves for long. I have no fear about both of them. We know that we are going to win this election and I have no doubt.”?On the security issues in state, Akeredolu called on the security agencies to beef up security to prevent miscreants from taking control of the state. ?”What the party said in Ondo state is that we were calling on the security apparatus of the state to be up and doing so that they don’t allow miscreants to take over because for instance as a governor you encourage lawlessness or people in the guise of protest because what the PDP has is a problem within the party. That should not lead to demonstration outside and you know that people are not demonstrating for any reason but because they have been more or less paid to come and do it.?”What we said is don’t allow miscreants to be out it could lead to, nobody can control the end of such demonstration. So, it’s not that we are afraid but we fear for the life and property of the people of Ondo state”, he said.
Post a Comment