Ajiboye Omodewu, chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State told the national chairman of the party that despite the victory achieved by the party in the 2023 election, members of the party have not been treated fairly by President Bola Tinubu.
The former commissioner made this known when the immediate past governor of Kano visited Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to Omodewu, Oyo APC remains an unsung hero because as it got little support but delivered beyond expectations.
He added that the party went into the election without a governor, confronting hostilities from incumbent PDP government in the state.
Unfortunately, he said, the same people behind the attacks are now the one laying claim to our hard-earned victory at the February 25 poll. He appealed to Ganduje to launch a probe into the whole matter with a view to establishing the truth. “As it stands today, we are not getting fair treatment but we remain hopeful that things would change for the better.
Text of the Address delivered by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Oyo State Chapter to welcome the National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje CON, on his official visit to the Oke-Ado, Ibadan Secretariat of Oyo APC on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
Your Excellency, the National Chairman of our great Party, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje CON.
Protocols
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Oyo state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on this memorable day. I am not only welcoming as our National Chairman but also as a critical stakeholder in the affairs of the Pacesetter state because it is an established fact that you see Oyo state as your second home state. It is on this premise that I, on behalf of all the members of the State, Local Government and Ward Executive Committees as well as our valuable Leaders, numerous loyalists and supporters of the APC, gladly welcome you and all the eminent people on your entourage to the state… E kaabo o!
Your Excellency, while I use this August occasion of your official visit to again congratulate on your recent ceremonious emergence as the Number One APC personality in Nigeria, it is equally imperative I felicitate you on the successful completion of your tenure as a two-term Executive Governor of Kano State. It is on record that you used your tenure to change the face of the Centre of Commerce especially in the areas of infrastructure, wealth creation, improved security architecture among others. Our dear Leader, you successfully wrote your name with an indelible ink on the sands of time and we are proud of you.
More significantly, I will like to use this medium to formally convey the message of eternal gratitude of our people to you on account of the monumental role which you played when the chips were down in the build up to the last presidential primary of our great Party. We are not unmindful of the fact that you and other like-minded Progressive Governors of northern extraction stood your ground and ensured that all attempts to throw the party into avoidable crisis were nipped in the bud. You did not allow anything to compromise your sense of fairness, equity and justice as you fully supported power shift to the south and with this, you elevated your status as one of the best patriots which Nigeria has ever produced. Today, our own Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we congratulate you for the heroic role which you played for this feat to be achieved.
Meanwhile, as events which heralded the last general election are still fresh in our memory, we must inform you that Oyo APC remains an unsung hero because we got little support but we delivered beyond expectations. In spite of the fact we had no sitting governor in Oyo, electioneering was quite challenging as we had to face a lot of hostilities from the PDP government in the state as sponsored thugs attacked our members on many occasions. The same PDP hoodlums did not spare all our campaign facilities including billboards, vehicles, buildings among others which they attacked and destroyed at will. All these attacks were documented and reported but unfortunately, the same people behind the attacks are now the one laying claim to our hard-earned victory at the February 25 poll. We have our records and we are using this medium to make a passionate appeal to your Office to launch a probe into the whole matter with a view to establishing the truth. As it stands today, we are not getting fair treatment but we remain hopeful that things would change for the better.
For record purpose, we did not only win all the three available senatorial seats and nine out of the the fourteen House of Representatives seats, we wrapped it up with a massive 449,884 votes for our presidential candidate only for us to be victims over night. However, we are not ready to lose focus as a progressive family. We intensify efforts to reconcile all our former members who left in the wake of the last general election and we shall not leave any stone unturned to achieve our goal of a stronger, better and more virile Oyo APC very soon. Few weeks ago, we received the gubernatorial candidates of Labour Party (LP) and Action Peoples Party (APP) as well as a good population of their supporters into the Progressive family and this is an eloquent testimony to the fact that APC remains the party to beat in the state.
Moreover, it may interest you to know that all the stakeholders have mandated us to participate in the local government council election slated for April next year in the state against all odds. We got the national secretariat in Abuja informed about this development and we swung into action accordingly. In line with the philosophy of our Progressive family, we gave room for all interested party faithful to be part of the exercise by throwing open the Expression of Interest forms obtained at a ridiculous fee. We followed due process in the pre-primary process and capped it up with free, fair and credible primaries across the 351 Wards and 33 LGAs in the state. Now, we are set for the electioneering campaigns again and we look to you for necessary support as events unfold.
Finally, your gesture to pay an official visit to our state Secretariat today will go down well in history and we shall never take it for granted. We use this opportunity to reiterate our confidence in your leadership and we assure you of our immaculate loyalty, unflinching support and cooperation as you take our great Party to the next level of greater heights and all round success. We also use this medium to express our support and optimism for the Renewed Hope mantra of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) as he and his able Vice, Sen. Kashim Shettima (GCON) remain committed to the task of a stable, flourishing and prosperous Nigeria.
Thank you and God bless you.
Long live the All Progressives Congress!
Long live Oyo state!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
APC…… Progress!
