Governors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have vowed to work together to ensure that Ondo State returns to the party in the October 10 gubernatorial election.
The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, made this declaration during the virtual inauguration of the PDP National Campaign Council for the Ondo gubernatorial at the party national secretariat in Abuja on Friday.
Represented by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Tambuwal said he would rally all the state chief executives under the main opposition party to do their parts to be sure that the governorship candidate of the PDP, Eyitayo Jegede, is elected.
Makinde quoted the forum’s boss as saying: “The message from the chairman of PDP Governors forum is that all the PDP governors are very much with us in this campaign. They are very much with us in this attempt to flip Ondo state, to get Ondo to come under the PDP umbrella. And he promised to rally all of us and ensure that we play our parts, we contribute everything that would be necessary and sufficient to deliver on Ondo state to PDP.”
Speaking for himself as the Chairman of the campaign council, Makinde said that there was no doubt that the PDP would win the election because it has a better “offering.”
He likened the present situation in Ondo state to the 2019 Oyo State, saying that even though the PDP did not have elected government officials or enjoyed that backing of the federal government, it was able to win the election.
He said: “The situation in Ondo state is quite similar to Oyo in 2019. They said to me then, ‘why are you confident you will win?’ Because we didn’t have the local governments, we didn’t have the state government, we didn’t also have the federal government as of the time we were standing for election in 2019. But we had God on our side.So, we are not afraid.”
While expressing confidence that the people of Ondo state would choose wisely, he asserted: “The election of 10/10/2020 is a choice between stagnation and progress, it’s a choice between sustained poverty and economic recovery. It is a choice between exploration and development, it a choice between continued hardship and prosperity.”
He assured that the PDP is presenting to the people of Ondo state the right choice in Eyitayo Jegede, saying that with him and his running mate on the ballot, the people of the state could be sure that Ondo will return to the right path.
Earlier in his remark, PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has thrown Nigerians into great suffering.
He said the government has no solution to the plight of Nigerians, noting that inflation and unemployment have reached the highest levels.
He observed that Ondo State’s situation is particularly pathetic because of the nature of government in place.
According to him, “In Ondo State, it is pathetic, where a governor rules with his family members and believes that he is a monarch or a monarchy in a democratic dispensation with an iron hand.”
He observed that the people are yearning for a change, urging the campaign council to mount a campaign that can rescue the state.
Secondus warned that the conduct of the Ondo election must be free and fair in order not to attract negative consequences.
He stated: “Let me draw the attention of Mr President to the need to conduct free, fair and transparent election having failed in all his promises.
“If he fails to conduct a free and fair election, then, he must be inviting something else because that is the best he can do.
“We must not allow the military to invade our polling booths on that day. It is a civilian government, a democracy and people must walk freely to their polling booths to vote for the party of their choice, not to be harassed and intimidated.”
He urged President Buhari to speak out on the matter rather than leave it to his “handlers.”
