OYO South Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Abiola Ajimobi has accepted his loss to the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Dr Kola Balogun, stated that he had decided to let go in the interest of peace.
Though Ajimobi described his loss in the battle for the Oyo South Senatorial ticket as unfortunate and that the election was ridden with electoral malpractices, he said he was consoled by the fact that no sacrifice was too much for a leader to make.
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As contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, Ajimobi said he was also buoyed by fact that the APC still won two senatorial seats and nine House of Representatives seats.
He said that the APC’s interest superseded his loss, calling on party faithful to campaign for its governorship candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu and House of Assembly candidates with confidence and unity of purpose.
According to Ajimobi, the number of legislative seats won and votes for President Muhammadu Buhari was evidence that the people of the state were appreciative of his developmental strides in different sectors.
“The results of the Oyo South Senatorial District election have been released by INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) indicating that I lost to the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) candidate.
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“I hereby accept the result as announced. Although there were a number of grievous infractions and established electoral malpractices, I have decided to let go in the interest of peace.
I, therefore, congratulate the declared winner, Hon Kola Balogun and our APC Senators-elect, Abdulfatai Buhari and Teslim Folarin.
“If I lose the ticket and the party was able to gain, then it is nothing to feel sad about. APC has done well but we can always do better. If we won two out of the three Senatorial seats and we picked nine out of 14 federal constituency seats, then we should congratulate ourselves.”
“To the teeming members and supporters of our party who came out in their thousands to show their preference for the APC, I thank and urge you to keep the faith especially as we look forward to the governorship and the House of Assembly elections.
“With the impressive results we currently have, we should proudly go forth with a greater sense of confidence and unity of purpose. Let us work together to ensure victory for our governorship candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, and all our candidates for the House of Assembly.
“We appreciate our people for coming out last Saturday, which led to APC winning two, out of the three Senatorial and nine out of the 14 Federal Constituency, seats in the state.
“The victory has shown the unassailable leadership of the APC in Oyo State. It has also shown that our people are appreciative of the developmental strides of the APC in the state and the country at large.
“We have taken Oyo State to an unprecedented level in terms of massive infrastructural renewal. Most importantly, we have ensured peace in the state,” Ajimobi said.
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