A former governor of Ogun state, Olusegun Osoba, has urged members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to vote for Governor Ibikunle Amosun who is contesting senatorial seat on the party’s platform despite seeming differences of governorship candidacy.
Osoba, who fielded questions from journalists on Monday at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja after a meeting of its national caucus, implored them not to take any act of vengeance against the governor.
Asked about his fight with the incumbent governor of Ogun state, who is supporting the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade, against APC’s Dapo Abiodun, he said, “I am not at loggerheads with him.
“Yesterday (Sunday) at a stakeholders’ meeting, I said under no circumstance should anybody dare vote against Amosun as a person, the party is APC. The Governor is a governor, his tenure will end May 29. So, why are we bothering ourselves?
“What is important is that we will vote massively for APC. Amosun is just an individual; I still respect him as my governor up to May 29 this year. I respect a governor because I was governor for twice.
“I told our people that vengeance is not ours and nobody should go for vengeance; we should all go for APC. Amosun is just an individual but the office of the governor is an important office that we should respect and give respect to that office.”
The former governor linked the inability to arrest the thugs believed to have been sponsored to attack the party’s presidential campaign rally in Abeokuta to the failure on the side of some elements in the security agencies.
He said the results of the presidential poll would reflect the mood of the state since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is preaching the philosophy of the late Obafemi Awolowo that backed the downtrodden, married to the family.
“Ogun State is the state of the vice President and I told the President today that I apologized that even up to today not a single person has been arrested. I see that as a failure on side of some elements of the security agencies. I made that clear.
“Actually, the bulk of the APC in the state are one family. The structure has gone out in spite of what has happened; that everybody should vote APC at all levels. When the result is out, you will know that it reflects the mood of the state.
“We respect the Vice President; he is from a very notable political family. He is married to the Awolowo family. He himself is preaching the philosophy of the Awolowo family, supporting the downtrodden. Awolowo philosophy is welfarism and egalitarianism. I am sure the President will think about that issue,” he said.
- Daily Trust
