From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Ahead of the November governorship election in Ondo State, the Youth Wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, has drummed support for an aspirant, Dr Paul Akintelure.
Its spokesperson, Ajao Olaseyi Stephen, at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, described Akintelure as a thorough-bred politician who would retrieve the state from poverty and insecurity.
Stephen added that the younger generation should be allowed to bring in their wealth of experience.
He said: “At this critical time of our polity in Ondo State, it has become imperative for us as Nigeria, to address Nigerians and all well meaning residents of Ondo State members of the youth wing of the All through this press conference as a pointer to our stand towards the forthcoming Progressives APC Governorship Primaries and by extension, the Governorship Election in our dear sunshine state. Congress, Ondo State,
“Firstly, we must in all sincerity, for all their efforts and commitment towards the development of Ondo State, commend the effort of the administration as being presently by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as a result of the unfortunate demise of our leader, mentor and father, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, whose name remains written in gold by all progressives in Ondo State.
“Consequently, it is not a secret that government is a continuum and there is a constitutional timeframe provided by law for every democratic administration to carry out functions in line with its mandate and thereafter pass the mantle to the next.
“It is in view of this that we the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo State have rallied ourselves to make a choice and take a stand on who we believe has the track record, capacity and competence to fly the flag of this great party in the next Ondo State Governorship Candidate and by God’s grace, receive the baton of leadership from the current administration after his victory at the polls, God’s willing.
“On this note, we hereby state categorically, with assurances of our support, our choice of a well known technocrat with pedigree and integrity, a grassroots man to the core, Dr. Paul Akintelure, to emerge as the Gubernatorial Candidate of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the Ondo State Governorship Election scheduled to hold in November, 2024.
“Let it be known that our choice of Dr. Paul Akintelure is not borne out of nothing, it rather remains premised on our firm believe in his pedigree, experience, character and competence. Dr. Paul Akintelure aside being a medical doctor is a farmer, a philanthropist and a public analyst.
“He has been through it all, he is a son of the soil and he strongly understands where the shoe pinches as it concerns Ondo State.
“Politically, Dr. Paul Akintelure remains a stalwart, especially within our party. He is a founding member of this party, a former Senatorial Candidate and former Deputy Governorship Candidate in the then ACN in Ondo State.
“He remains a loyal servant of the party and also a very close ally to Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.
“It is also important to note that Dr. Paul Akintelure is amazingly youth friendly. In our dialogue with him, he agreed to pick a youth as his running mate and also cede 60% of the slots in his cabinet to young people in a bid to prepare them for leadership in the future.
“The party must understand that leadership responsibilities must transit from one generation to another as at when due, otherwise, we create a vacuum in leadership which frustrates young people and pushes young people into crime and other vices.”