- PDP in show of force, shuts down Abeokuta
The All Progressives Congress has announced the name of former governor of Ogun State and APC senatorial candidate for Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, as the Deputy Grand Patron of the Campaign Council.
National leader of APC and former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba is the Grand Patron.
According to APC Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, the Patrons Committee is the highest body of the Campaign Council.
The statement read that the state Governor and State Coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the state will on Saturday, inaugurate a 800-member campaign council and commission the APC 2023 Campaign Secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital, by 10.00 am.
The statement read “the all-embracing campaign council has 17 sub-committees for the effective coordination of all the APC candidates; Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates.
“The Governor chairs the Campaign, with the Deputy Governor Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele as Deputy Chairman and APC Ogun State Chairman as the Vice Chairman.
“Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Senator Lekan Mustapha, is the Director General of the 2023 Campaign Council, while Apostle Biodun Sanyaolu, and Hon Adebola Sofela will serve as Vice Director Generals for Administration and Operations, respectively. Mr. Bolu Owotomo will serve as the Secretary of the Council.
“Emerging list from the party shows Aremo Segun Osoba as the Grand Patron, while other notable leaders of the party including former governors and deputy governors, former senators and others who are members of APC are listed as patrons.”
Meanwhile, after seemingly resolving its multi-dimensional internal wrangling, the People’s Democratic Party, Ogun State, on Friday engaged in a show of force, shutting down some parts of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Many people were stranded during the show of force which took hours in the metropolis as thousands of supporters and on-lookers walked around Abeokuta with songs and chants of PDP 2023.
Having outlived some legal setbacks that have caused some glitches in the execution of his campaign objectives, Ladipupo Adebutu, during his speech expressed appreciation to groups, party chieftains and stakeholders who played pivotal roles in the trying times.
He said, “We must also appreciate the support of the National Executive Committee of our great party for providing good leadership and courage throughout the periods of unwarranted litigation and trial, special thanks to our National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu for his staunch support.
“To our State Executive Committee members, we express our profound gratitude to you all, particularly, our amiable Chairman, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele for standing firm on the path of truth.
“These appreciations will not be complete if we fail to recognize the belief, support, prayers and best wishes we enjoyed from the good people of Ogun State throughout this period. We realize that our people are tired of the misrule and bad governance fostered on them now; hence the clamour for a change.
“We seize this opportunity to acknowledge the role of the judiciary in upholding the law and ultimately standing by our constitution and the electoral law by delivering judgements that will further entrench democracy in our nation,” he said.
Adebutu, who disclosed his readiness for the coming election expressed that the pathway to success may be difficult, however, he has chosen the path to achieve victory in 2023.
He added that having lived in the state and domiciled his businesses and investments in the state for some years now, he explained that the government has distanced itself from the people in the grassroots level.
“In our quest to serve the people of our dear state, we conducted an independent survey to identify the needs of our people, the result of the survey is alarming and as a matter of fact, there is a need for an urgent rescue mission.
“The survey revealed high rates of endemic poverty, youth unemployment, inadequate social services, poor infrastructure and insecurity, the cumulative effect is unbearable life for all and sundry. Insecurity pervades our communities and has become the norm, as our people cannot sleep with eyes closed again.
“Dear people of Ogun State, It will interest you to know how much damage this government has caused us as a result of their inexperience, lack of integrity, incompetence and stratospheric height while key members of the government presently face grievous charges of corruption which ideally should have caused them to recuse themselves from governance,” he said.
The governorship candidate went further by rolling out his seven focal areas manifesto in the spate of the campaign flag-off.
In his words, “Driven by sincere conviction to make life comfortable and as close to utopia as possible, which by the special grace of God, I have clearly demonstrated through my antecedents, including my tenures at the National Assembly and my numerous statewide philanthropic gestures, I hereby offer to our people, myself and my Co-travelers as harbingers of relief -ITURA, and a good life, so our people will have hope for a better future.
“Through good governance, we shall reduce hardship and provide sustainable Relief – ITURA.
“Our dear people of Ogun State, with the following Seven Focal Areas of our manifesto, we assure you that RELIEF HAS COME – ITURA DE!
“The Seven focal areas of our desired government that will provide relief are: Improved Security, Law & Order; True Local Government Autonomy; Public Service Reforms and Workers Welfare; Urban Regional Development, Physical Planning and Transportation; Rural and Border Communities Development; Agricultural & Economic Development; Development of Women, Youth and Sports; Enhancement of Education, Healthcare and other Social Services.”
