Jethro Ibileke
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, has reacted to allegation of leading two other Governors to work against the reelection bid of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general election, made against him by a group that goes by the name, Buhari Support Group.
The group who made allegation against the Governors when they protested to the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Abuja, alleged that Akeredolu was leading two other Governors, whom they tagged “Conservatives,” of working against the reelection bid of President Muhamadu Buhari, and the removal of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole as national Chairman of the APC.
Akeredolu’s denial was published in an advert signed by his SSA, Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin Odebowale, in response to a newspaper report titled, “Buhari support group accuses three Governors of sabotage.”
The publication described the protesters as a mob, organized by an opportunistic group in support of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.
“In the said report, the Governor is accused of leading Governors of Ogun, Kaduna, Adamawa and even Ekiti, whose helmsman just assumed the mantle of leadership just two weeks ago, against Mr. Adams Oshiomhole’s leadership. He is also accused of ‘demarketing’ the President to the extent that he can barely get 10% of the votes in a general election in Info State. The Governor is equally upbraided for ‘moving around North and South to collect signatures’ to force the Chairman o resign or be removed.
“While we find this report laughable and somewhat distracting, it becomes pertinent that certain issues are clarified for the benefit of the good people of this country, particularly members of the All Progressives Congress. The Governor of Ondo State is a fiercely independent personality. He is not about to change his attitude to please person or a group of persons.
“Mr. Adams Oshiomhole should recall the Governor’s insistence on the sanctity of his mandate stolen by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, at a time when no hired rabble took Interest in defending him. This happened when the Governor was the President of the Nigerian Bar Association. If Mr. Oshiomhole did not offer him any inducement for his principled stance, it is uncharitable for anyone to suggest that he can act, discreetly, in order to effect a desirable change,” Akeredolu’s advert stated.
It recalled that “unlike some exigent activists whose sordid deeds in their inglorious past seem obliterated by time,” Akeredolu has remained consistent till date and is not in the same category “as the current noisemakers whose whole existence exacts tremendous pressure on the people.”
The publication which described Governor Akeredolu as a man who does not enjoy hiding behind a finger when an occasion demands that men and women of principle should stand against injustice, said there was no truth in the whole contrivance, adding that the Governor has been preoccupied with matters of governance for which he was elected.
“The Governor had expressed preference for someone else during the contest for the office of the Chairman of the Party. He did not hide his opposition to Mr. Oshiomhole’s aspiration for the simple reason that the leadership of a party , especially the one just emerging from a merger, should distance itself from egregious and inherently destructive narcissism. Recent events seem to justify this position as perscient. Only sycophants will fail to see the obvious.
“The handlers of the mob strive in vain to set the President against certain government functionaries considered antagonistic to their pernicious scheme for dominance. Their devious plot to outsmart those perceived as opposing their expansionist tendency compelled them to take despite measures. Anyone endowed with an attitude of sobriety should have seen the need for calm.”
“Rather than trace their steps and display genuine contrition, their despiration pushes them to embrace measures capable of not only hurting the Party, but, regrettably, the President, whom they pretend to love on much.
“It is ludicrous that anyone will consider a former President of the NBA, whose tenure was remarkable at a crucial period in the political history of the country, a conservative. Those who collected varying and humongous? amounts as fees from aspirants during the last grandiose charade called primaries and submitted names dictated to them by a cabal, notorious for capturing political power for unbridled pillage, should be bold to explain their motives?to the people. They should be honest enough to deal with the issues.
“Events which took place across the country during the political charade, have exposed not only sheer incompetence on the part of 5he national leadership of the Party, but painfully, it has revealed a shocking proclivity towards banditry and impunity. It is becoming clear, increasingly, that party leadership at that level is seriously challenged in terms of capacity for serious engagement.”
The statement insisted that Governor Akeredolu who is currently in Canada on a working visit, does not need to move from North to South to collect signatures from victims of electoral heists, adding that “only the mob and their hirers can explain the imagined movement from North or South.”
Akeredolu also reiterated that the people of Ondo are favourably disposed to the second term bid of President Muhamadu Buhari, and that they shall work assiduously for his reelection bid, come 2019.