President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as the party’s campaign committee for Ondo State governorship election, to ensure to retain the state in the upcoming election for the party.
President Buhari gave the charge on Friday when the party and its campaign council for the Ondo election approached him with the candidate and governor of the state, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, at the State House on Friday.
Disclosing the President’s charge while briefing State House Correspondents, Chairman of the APC’s National Caretaker Committee and governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, also said President Buhari expressed his confidence in Akeredolu’s chances, even as he officially offered the candidate his blessings.
The entourage that visited the President also included the Chairman of the APC Campaign Committee for the Ondo State governorship Election, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; the governor of Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong; the Kebbi State governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu and the deputy governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Buni, however, expressed the confidence that the ruling party would carry the day in the Ondo election, asserting that only APC could with the state as the candidate had proven to be an excellent administrator in his first term as governor.
“Like I have earlier said, Mr. President has endorsed him and he commended him for his efforts in the last four years as he is aware of the transformation and the development he has made in the last four years.
“APC is the only party that can win election in Ondo, not only because APC as a party is the only party but because the governor there is performing and has performed, the people of Ondo state have seen themselves and have agreed to themselves that yes, he is the only man they can trust for the next four years.
“So Mr. President has made it and has endorsed him. That’s what we have been looking for, his blessing, his endorsement, his encouragement and his support and we have gotten that already
“We are here today to present our candidate to Mr. President being the leader of the party for his blessing. That has always been the practice, we cannot kick-start our campaign without his endorsement and that is what we have just done.
“Well I am optimistic because the product we are selling has sold himself already because he has performed in the last four years. We are all products of our choices and the people of Ondo State are wise now to choose him to continue the good work he is doing.
“So I am very much optimistic that the good people of Ondo State will renew their mandate and the governor of Ondo state will continue and they will give him the mandate again for another four years,” he said.
Also speaking the Chairman of the campaign committee, Mr. Sanwo-Olu, though the party is confident of its chances of returning Akeredolu as governor because of his development strides, the campaign would not take the people for granted, reaching out to everyone nook and cranny of the state.
“When you have a good product and people have seen and have agreed. It makes our job easier. Our good friend and brother, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has not only done well, he is a progressive and he is a man that has stood over the last four years, carrying his people along and doing all to ensure that good governance continues in Ondo State.
“So for us, it is really about ensuring that we do not take anybody for granted, that’s why we are not going to rest on our oars even when we know that he has done very well, we will still go through the entire gamut of campaigning, ensuring that we go into all the nooks and crannies of the state to reassure them that their governor, our candidate will continue on the good job that he is doing and also solicit for their votes to ensure that they come out enmass and vote and re-elect him.
“So we will be starting our campaign tomorrow by the grace of God and we will ensure that he goes round all the senatorial, local governments and wards in the state so that we do not take anybody for granted and continue to ensure that the good work that he is doing they can see it and they can continue to work with him,” he said.
Meanwhile, the candidate of the party, Governor Akeredolu, said President Buhari had given the party to go out and ensure victory for the party, adding that the party would not take the task for granted
“All of us, we are not taking things for granted and we know that by the grace of the Almighty God, success is ours.
When we got to the President like the Chairman has said, we received his blessings, he spoke to us, he encouraged us to move on and do our best and make sure that we win Ondo State for APC.
“Ondo State is an APC state and we are certain that it is not going to get out of our hands. Whatever it will take, by the power of the Almighty God, using all civil means, appealing to our people,” said.
Talking of what he would do differently if re-elected, Akeredolu said “I have a lot of projects that are not completed. Today we speak to the people of Ondo State that we are determined to add Port Ondo. That will be the port service the whole of Western people. It is a determination and the people of Ondo are waiting. We have had problems in the past that a governor starts a project; somebody comes in and abandons it.
“I am appealing to the people of Ondo State let us see these projects to fruition, Port Ondo, that is a new thing entirely for us. The bitumen exploration is a totally new thing, bitumen has been there for years, today we have to extract bitumen… and the federal government has said we won’t be importing bitumen at a point in time.
“So, we need to be there to steer the affairs of State to ensure that bitumen comes on board from Ondo state that is where you have the largest deposit of bitumen, second largest in the world and these are things we are convinced we have to do and that is why we talk to our people that continuity matters so that somebody will not come to truncate all these advancement that we have made getting to port, to bitumen exploration and so many other things. So I have a lot to do differently,” he said.
