By Chinelo Obogo
Former Plateau State Commissioner and member, Edo electoral committee, Yakubu Dati, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to woo the deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shuaibu and other aggrieved governorship aspirants in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Dati said in a statement that the party needs the support of all stakeholders to win the September governorship election and urged that chieftains like Senator Adams Oshiomhole be encouraged to contribute to the party’s efforts.
He said: “APC should waste no time in rallying round all the other aspirants to work for the party; woo aggrieved PDP aspirants with grassroots followership like the Deputy Governor, Philip Shuaibu; while the former two-term Governor of the state and former national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole be mobilised to use his towering influence amongst the grassroots to work for the party.
“The Progressive Governors Forum and the serving National Assembly leadership including some former principal officers like Idris Ahmed Wase should be contacted to bring their wealth of experience to bear on running the elections while Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, an AI specialist and election war horse can assist in the IT process of the election,” he said.
Commending the national chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, for the success of the governorship primary, he said because of the passion and zeal shown by the contending aspirants, it was almost impossible to imagine a rapprochement that would make all the personalities agree on one candidate expect the processes are seen to be fair, just and transparent.
“That was exactly what the national chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, achieved when he brought his wealth of experience, political acumen and legendary wizardry to bear on the process of electing the APC candidate for Edo state in the forthcoming September governorship elections.
“The outcome was unanimously accepted such that when the APC national chairman presented the Certificate of Return to the winner, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, it was widely agreed that an end has come to the rancour which pitted three of the aspirants against one another.
“Okpebholo polled 12,433 votes to defeat 11 other aspirants who contested the rerun election, which was initiated after the first contest was declared inconclusive by the leadership of the ruling party.
“The final outcome of the exercise was announced officially in Benin by the new Chairman of the election committee and Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, following the collation of results from the 18 Local Government Areas in the state.
“The manner the APC was able to still the storm threatening to tear the party apart has become a recurring decimal in the affairs of the party since the assumption of office of Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.
“Ganduje, has since assuming office, brought with him an all embracing transformational leadership style that unites, inspires and motivates party members to trump the interest of the party above individual ambitions and this has worked to make the party more formidable to win in almost all the elections it participated within the last seven months,” he said.