2023: Ekiti Governorship Election, Our First Test ― APC Chairman

2023: Ekiti Governorship Election, Our First Test ― APC Chairman

•Tasks Bagudu, Fayemi, others, to ensure victory

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has said the Ekiti Governorship Election scheduled for June 18 will provide the ruling party with an ample opportunity to test the waters if it is still popular within the electorate in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration of a 61-member Ekiti Governorship Campaign Committee which has Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu as Chairman, Senator Adamu tasked the Committee to ensure victory for the party.

While appealing to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure fairness, he told the Governor Bagudu team that his leadership was desirous of victory in the election.

“With this inauguration today, we are giving you a matching order the campaign council and our great people of Ekiti State, particularly our own good people of Ekiti State on the platform of our great party the APC.

“Ekiti is the first election that we will be having, in this dispensation of APC. God has blessed our lives, God has blessed my life and my political career. Once there’s a contest, there will be a winner and a loser, we are never on the losing side.

“But we don’t take that for granted. We are going to work as hard as we can to ensure that we deliver our gubernatorial candidate as the next governor of Ekiti State.

“As we inaugurate this Committee, I have one thing in the marching order of this party and that is don’t come home crying, don’t come home crying. If there’s crying, let them go and cry for their principals, and not us.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is at the beginning of his trip out of the presidential villa. He made no secret of it. He’s a man of honour, he seeks no extension, he made it public in this very hall that used to be our NEC hall. He said that he has been elected for a second time. He is under oath as president to protect and preserve the Nigerian constitution.

“The Nigerian Constitution has given him two terms of four years each, he was starting his second term and at the end of it, he doesn’t intend to and doesn’t ask for anybody to ask for a third term or any elongation of tenure.

“Recently, he made the same pronouncement sometimes early this year. So, we are on a bound like him to see that he has a soft landing and that is to deliver this party to victory and Ekiti State is the first test.

“So, he takes this election very seriously, we would try to do as much as possible, we will be guided by the rules of engagement for elections, we will observer every rule, every guideline and we do hope that those who will be responsible for overseeing the compliance will be fair arbiters, will be fair referees, will be fair umpires.

“It is our hope and prayers that God Almighty will be with us, will guide us, will ensure that victory is ours.”

In his remarks, National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Mohammed Argungu, said he was confident of victory based on the achievements in the office of the incumbent APC governor, Kayode Fayemi.

“We know that the good people of Ekiti State will pay back the impressive accomplishments of Dr Kayode Fayemi by voting massively for APC so as to continue enjoying the dividends of democracy being facilitated by the ruling APC in the State.

“Finally, our confidence is further boosted by the totality of the characters of the leadership and members of the Ekiti State Gubernatorial Campaign Council proudly led by His Excellency, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the strategy minded Governor of Kebbi State who has done it four years back,” Argungu said.

Kebbi State Governor and Chairman of the Campaign Committee, Governor Bagudu said his colleague in Ekiti State, Governor Fayemi, has made the job of the campaign committee easy with his landmark achievements.