KEY POINTS
- Ganduje says APC will sweep Oyo, Osun states.
- The APC’s aspirations to rule is defeated by both Makinde and Adeleke insisting it’s not democratic.
- South West politics is being incited or being manipulated is what opposition leaders warn against.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke have condemned the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje’s declaration that the party will sweep Oyo and Osun states.
The statement followed the Ondo gubernatorial election, which the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won with Lucky Aiyedatiwa declared victorious.
The takeover ambitions, according to Ganduje
Ganduje spoke on Sunday in Akure that part of the APC target was to conquer all the faulted states in South West, to attain political homogeneity.
Next we are targeting the South West geopolitical zone. He stated, We will do everything possible to bring them into the fold.
Makinde: a wishful assertion
In his reaction through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Governor Makinde described Ganduje’s comments as ‘wishful thinking.’
Also in a statement by acting Publicity Secretary Micheal Ogunsina, the Oyo PDP described the APC’s plan to take over as a plot to add more ‘devastation, pain, and sorrow’ to the state.
Rather than relieving people of their burden, APC fashions itself to the capturing of states and abduction of destinies. The statement read: ‘We reject this curse from Ganduje and the APC.’
Adeleke: the comments undermine democracy
In a statement issued by his media aide Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke accused Ganduje of rubbishing President Bola Tinubu’s democratic credentials and inciting political tension in the region.
Osun is the cradle of Yoruba people where political freedom is cherished, Adeleke said. Ganduje’s comments ‘a threat to democracy.’”
But Adeleke also lampooned APC for using federal power to determine the outcome of elections, warning that such games would not work in Osun where the people prize their political freedom.
Opposition parties and analysts react
PDP Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor castigated the APC’s tactics. Accusing the party of “rigging its way into power” in recent off cycle elections.
Also, NNPP Osun Chairman Dr Tosin Odeyemi described Ganduje’s remarks as “reckless” and capable of causing violence.
Labour Party spokesperson Obiora Ifoh also dismissed Ganduje’s claims, saying that hunger and suffering under APC governance have eroded the party in the South West.
Any way you slice it, they can’t take over the whole South West. “Ifoh said people are tired of APC’s misrule,” he further added.
