The PDP has picked Senate President Bukola Saraki to lead
its National Campaign Committee to face Kano Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje ‘s
APC committee for Osun governorship election.......
Saraki PDP on Monday in Abuja
urged the campaign committee to do everything within the law to win the Sept.
22 governorship election in Osun just as the All Progressive Congress (APC)
earlier tasked its 63-member Campaign Council. National Chairman of PDP, Mr
Uche Secondus, gave the charge when he inaugurated the party’s National
Campaign Committee for the election.
Secondus said that members of the
committee were carefully nominated because of the importance of Osun to the
PDP. He said that PDP believed that its candidate was the best for the state,
and assured that it would not allow itself to be rigged out in the election.
“We will not allow vote-buying in Osun because that is rigging and rigging is
corruption.
“I believe that the international community is watching and all
eyes are on this nation,’’ he said. Secondus advised security agencies not to
allow themselves to be used, reminding them that they had sworn to uphold the
Constitution, not an individual or politician. He urged them to the loyal to
Nigerians, the Constitution and the electoral process and law.
He also called
on all stakeholders to rise and condemn rigging, vote-buying and intimidation
in elections by security agencies. Secondus said that the committee had the
responsibility to augment all activities of campaign and reach out to all the
critical stakeholders.
“It should mobilize all our people in all the local
government areas of Osun, and to do everything necessary within the law for us
to win the state.’’ In his response, Saraki promised that the committee would
ensure that the PDP won the Osun poll. He said that the election was important
because PDP had lost two governorship elections in the South-West – Ekiti and
Ondo.
“We must win Osun to prove that Osun is the home ground of the PDP. This
is a state where salaries are not being paid,’’ he said. Saraki said that
winning the Osun poll was not just about the state but to also serve as a
momentum for the 2019 general elections. He expressed hope that President
Muhammadu Buhari would live up to his promise to world leaders that the 2019
elections would be free and fair.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had last
week constituted a 63 Campaign Council made up of 14 governor and 8 Ministers
and 41 other members of the National Assembly and seasoned politicians, include
former Akwa Ibom state Governor, Godswill Akpabio to spear head the party’s
campaign for the governorship election in Osun State.
The governors in the
campaign council are Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano) who will serve as the
chairman of the campaign council, Abdulazeez Abubakar Yari (Zamfara) who will
serve as Deputy Chairman, Akinwunmi Dapo Ambode (Lagos), Sen. Ibikunle Amosun
(Ogun), Sen. Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Arakunrin
Olwarotimi Akeredolu SAN (Ondo), Owelle Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Godwin Obaseki
(Edo), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau), Kashim Shettima
(Borno), Sen. Mohammed Umar Jibrilla (Adamawa) and Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).
The campaign council also include eight serving Ministers namely, Gen.
Abdulrahman Dambazau Rtd (Interior), Alh. Manir Dan-Ali (Defence), Alh. Adebayo
Shittu (Communications), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu (Petroleum) Babatunde Fashola SAN
(Power, Works & Housing) Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (Transport), Alhaji Lai
Mohammed (Information) and Prof. Isaac Adewole (Health).
The deputy National
Chairman (south) of the party, Otunba Niyi Adebayo leads members of the
National Working Committee who are members of the campaign council while former
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio leads members of the National
Assembly who will join in the campaign to ensure that the APC retain the
governorship seat in the state.
The National Chairman of the party, Comrade
Adams Oshiomhole, said the task before the, was to ensure that the APC retain
the governorship seat in Osun state by working with party leaders in the state
and mobilizing the people to vote massively the APC candidate. Oshiomhole said
“many of you present here have been very much involved in helping to provide
leadership in most of the campaigns that we have had in recent times after the
last general elections.
“The most recent one is that of Ekiti State where your
Excellences did very well and some of the governors who were much involved in
that exercise are not here but some of you here were very much involved in it.
“So, we have a body of experience to go about and the whole idea is to sustain
the values and the ideals of our Party, which is based on transparent elections
on the basis of one man, one vote and joining forces with the party leadership
in the state, to work hard, to mobilize people of Osun State to vote wisely for
the “The importance of any election doesn’t require much elaboration. As a
governing party, Nigerians resolve in our favor that the All Progressives
Congress should not only preside at the center.
They have expressed so much
trust and confidence in our party, that on our party’s platform, 24 governors
were elected even though the Supreme Court judgment had said it is parties that
win election not an individual.’’ Mr. Gboyega Oyetola is Osun APC’s candidate
while PDP is parading Senator Ademola Adeleke for the September 22,
governorship election.
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