THE Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, is to lead the Allied People’s Movement governorship campaign across the state from tomorrow.
Amosun in a statement signed by Wole Elegbede, the Publicity Secretary of the sacked Derin Adebiyi – led state executive committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that he would be all out to seek the support of the people of the state for his preferred candidate.
The governor was quoted in the statement to have said: “I am campaigning full blast for my candidate and our candidate in Ogun State, Hon Abdulkabir Adekunle Akinlade, and all our assembly candidates.”
Elegbede said the resolve of Amosun to campaign for Akinlade was in tandem with the support that was given by APM to President Muhammadu Buhari in the last Saturday election, saying “since the APM in Ogun state had adopted President Muhammadu Buhari and fulfilled the promise to vote for the President, it is only fair to reciprocate the gesture.”
Elegbede said that all APC and APM supporters in Ogun State will combine their votes to ensure victory for the APM candidates.
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However, the Publicity Secretary of the party Caretaker Committee, Tunde Oladunjoye, in a statement on Tuesday, said Amosun would have suffered defeat in the election if not for the intervention of the former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and other party stalwarts in Ogun Central senatorial district.
He noted that the party, APM, performed woefully in the last election despite the alleged huge sum of money spent on the party.
“We have cause to thank the good people of Ogun State for voting massively for President Buhari and other APC candidates as shown in the final results. We must also thank the people of Ogun Central Senatorial District, who, as good party loyalists, listened to the call of our foremost leader, Aremo Segun Osoba, who pleaded for people not to disgrace Amosun.
“A close look at the figures from Ogun Central showed that but for APC, Amosun would have lost woefully, as even his touted APM members cast a vote of 10,038 against Amosun who was the combined candidate of APC and APM.
“In fact, APM made the poorest outing despite the billions of Ogun taxpayers’ money expensed by Amosun on the moribund project, as the party scored just about seven per cent of the total votes in Amosun’s Senatorial District and less than five per cent across the State. The only House of Reps seat ‘won’ by APM was where a police officer was shot dead by hoodlums.
“Our findings, from the reports from the field, contrary to what Amosun will want us to believe, was that APM members, especially in Ogun East Senatorial District, actually worked against President Muhammadu Buhari. They were openly telling voters that they were not concerned about Buhari’s re-election, but we thank God for the voters who stood their grounds and voted for Buhari and APC.”
“Our findings also revealed the use of serving commissioners and other appointees of Amosun, to harass voters and intimidate the electoral officers.
“As we march on for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections slated for March 9, we call on all the good people of Ogun State to continue to vote for APC,” the statement read.
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