Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Thursday warned loyalists of the ruling All Progressives Congress, other politicians and the media to stop referring to him as the new leader of the party in the South-West geo-political zone. Amosn, who also admitted that the crisisridden APC was going through a difficult time, however expressed optimism that the party would overcome the problems currently confronting it.
The governor, in a statement he personally signed, therefore, rejected the new status being conferred on him as the leader of the party in the South-West, especially since the victory recorded recently by the APC in the Ondo State gubernatorial election.
He, however, restated his loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari and pledged his continued support for the ruling APC. The governor said, “For the avoidance of doubt, I am not, by any stretch of imagination, the leader or new leader of the APC in the South-
West. I am a loyal party member, and I shall stand by our party and of course, with President Buhari. I am also obliged to respect all our leaders in the state, South-West and Nigeria.
“This is the minimum that is required of every party member by custom, and by the constitution of the party. I acknowledge that these are rather difficult times in the life of our party and in the nation. “I am confident that we shall overcome and our party, the APC, and our dear country will come out even stronger, more viable and united.
“I have noticed with consternation the recurring misnomer and misdescription in political
nomenclature, particularly as they relate to the politics of the South-West, and by extension, the country as a whole. I refer to the emerging tendency of referring to me and some other members of our great party as the ‘leader(s) of the South-West’ or ‘new leader(s) of the APC in the South-West’.
“When that phrase was first brought to my attention, particularly during the weeks preceding the Ondo State gubernatorial election, my immediate reaction was to ignore same as yet another distractive antics of the opposition. “Somehow, the misnomer stuck and it came to appear rather more frequently in several other fora and publications, including respectable gatherings and the media.
“Lies and misconceptions, when told and asserted repeatedly with gusto, have the tendency to assume the toga of the truth. It is for these reasons that I have considered it of critical importance to set the records straight.” Amosun further stated that as one of the party’s major stakeholder, he was not interested in any unnecessary contest for the leadership of the region with anyone to feather his political nest or for any personal aggrandisement.
He added, “As the governor of an APC controlled state, Ogun, I am a huge stakeholder in
my party. In all that I do, in the open and in private, the bigger interest of our party remains the guiding principle for my actions, decisions and alliances.
“I grew up in the old Western Region, where loyalty to corporate goal and party supremacy was the hallmark of a true party member, and indeed every citizen.” The governor also noted that “true leadership” could only be earned and not just merely
assumed by anyone.
He said, “From the template that we inherited from our forebears, it is usually earned. In
political parlance, leadership also evolves. If we take this as our guide, even as governor, I have leaders from my state and at the national level.
“By the grace of God, my total preoccupation and commitment is to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of Ogun State that the Almighty God used to give me the opportunity to serve them. “We will not take the support of our people
for granted. We shall work even harder to justify their confidence and, by the grace of God, leave the state better than we met it and in a blaze of glory.” “These, rather than some insensitive, phony and imaginary leadership contest, are my aspirations,” Amosun said.
