The South West Caucus of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has admonished Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to, as a matter of urgency, extend olive branch to his co-contestants in the just concluded governorship primaries in the state.
The party urged Akeredolu to be magnanimous in victory and use it as a magnetic force to bring all relevant stakeholders together for the party to triumph in the October 10, 2020 gubernatorial election in the state.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday by its Secretary, Honourable Karounwi Oladapo, the Southwest APC congratulated the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker Committee of the APC for the first major electoral success recorded since its inauguration.
He applauded the Caretaker Committee for setting a template that satisfied the due process explicitly outlined in the APC Constitution and the Electoral Act in the conduct of the primaries.
This, he said, said accounted for the widely acceptable outcome that produced Akeredolu as the Candidate of the Party for the next gubernatorial general election in Ondo State.
The statement reads in part, “When the Leadership eschews impunity, partiality, and follows the rule of Law, transparency and accountability will be guaranteed, electoral violence and brigandage will be eliminated and the outcome will be less doubtful and litigious. This was what we witnessed in the just concluded Ondo APC primary election that has become a model and standard to be followed in the subsequent Party and Public office elections.”
Oladapo urged Akeredolu to, as a matter of urgency within the next 48 hours, reach out to other contestants, assuage their feelings, encourage and assure them of an all-inclusive and participatory government.
The Zonal Publicity Secretary saluted those that participated and lost in the APC shadow election for their courage, commitment and spirit of sportsmanship.
“They have spent time, money, intellect, and sweated to mobilize and expand the membership base and increase the strength of the Party during their struggle to clinch the Party ticket. The Leadership assures them that their efforts will be rewarded.
“We urge the aspirants that lost the Primaries to rally round Akeredolu to win the general election as internal conflict resolution mechanism of the Party will take care of whatever grievances that exist. We value all the aspirants because their participation in the Primaries tested the capacity of the APC to conduct decent elections, adhere strictly to the democratic ideals, the rule of Law and Democracy,” it added.
