…Appoints Ganduje, Yari as campaign c’ittee chair, deputy

Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Wednesday, inaugurated a 63-man Campaign Council, comprising 14 serving state governors and eight ministers, to spearhead the September 22 Osun State governorship election.

Inaugurating the committee headed by the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, announced that the governor of Zamfara state, Abdulazeez Abubakar Yari, will serve as the deputy chairman of the committee.

The names of the governors include Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, Lagos Akinwunmi Ambode, Ogun, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Plateau, Simon Lalong, Ondo, Olwarotimi Akeredolu, Oyo, Abiola Ajimobi, Edo, Godwin Obaseki, Baluchi, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, Adamawa, Mohammed Umar Jibrilla, Jigawa, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Borno, Kashim Shettima, Imo, Rochas Okorocha, and host governor Rauf Aregbesola.

READ ALSO: Only 10% Anambra pregnant women sleep in mosquito nets – experts

Ministers of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), Defence, Dan-Ali, Communication, Adebayo Shittu, Power/Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fasola, Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Information, Lai Mohammed, Health, Prof Isaac Adewale and Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu among others.

Speaking while inaugurating the campaign council, the party’s chairman said: “By way of protocol, the 63 names constitute members of the Osun State campaign council. We are very grateful to governor Ganduje for graciously accepting to provide leadership and chair this very important committee.

“Of course, his deputy, Governor Yari has informed me that they have some activities in the Villa and so, he is not here but he is here with us in spirit.

“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 excellencies did very well and some of the governors  who were much involved in that exercise are not her 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, mobilise people of Osun State to vote wisely for the APC candidate in the governorship election scheduled to take place on September 22, 2018.

“The importance of any election doesn’t require much elaboration. As a governing party, Nigerians resolve in our favour that the APC should not only preside at the centre.

“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 Amaechi vs Celestine Omehia.

Related News

“However, some governors were happy with their people having voted for us in Sokoto, in Kwara and in Benue. We are happy that more progressives are coming. So, the importance of Osun is readily appreciated by all of us.

“First, it is a State we had taken over from the PDP, we defeated the sitting governor at that time and happily that sitting governor joined us today,” he said.

READ ALSO: Killings: Judge hands off suit seeking to label herdsmen ‘terrorists’

Responding, Governor Ganduje said, “On behalf of these powerful council, I will like to thank you for having confidence in us.

“There is no doubt this is a very powerful council looking at the composition of the membership,  governors,  senators,  experience party men.

“Also the task ahead of us is very impotant. So, I think that what you have done is to match the quality of the council with the importance of assignment.

“There is no doubt that winning Osun Sate is very vital to the party, the government because its a state we shall retain, it has been our style in APC for the last eight years and by the will of God we will maintain this state in order to have a 100 per cent states of the south western part of this country in our great party.

“As progressives, Mr chairman we assure you we will ensure clean, free and fair election because that is the motive of the APC. Free of violence.

“What we intend to do is to mobilize our people. We are even very lucky that the primaries conducted succeeded in mobilising the people, in energising the people, in giving our members hope in Osun state, so that we continue with that mobilization until the election day when certainly we will win this election.

“Luckily enough, the governor of Osun is a man of the people, he provided the dividend of Democracy. He is the man who relates with all the strata of the society in Osun. So, he is a man that is being loved by the people.

“All that is required now is for us to sit together to ensure there is total reconciliation among those who contested for the primaries.

“This is very important to give a sense of belonging so that everyone will participate in the electioneering and in the election and also mobilise all the stakeholders to ensure we work in unity.

“We assure you, our party will work very hard to win this election following the rules of the INEC in the federal constitution of the country,” he promised.