- Promise victory in Ekiti, Osun
Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Ahead of the 2019 General Elections, and the Ekiti and Osun state elections scheduled for July 14 and September 22 respectively, opposition party PDP on Saturday staged a South West rally in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, to marshal members and activists for victory at the polls.
Party National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus, addressing the gathering of party faithfuls who came from all over the South West, assured that the party would not succumb to any form of intimidation in its quest for victory in the 2019 General Elections and the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States.
Secondus said that the party was on a “mission to rescue the nation” and take power from the ruling APC party in Ekiti, Osun and at the federal level.
The party leader insisted that the PDP would go the whole hog to rescue Nigerians from the Buhari administration which he said had brought poverty on them.
Secondus charged members and party leadership to work hard in order to win the 2019 and governorship polls.
He insisted that ordinary Nigerians were tired of the APC administration, stressing that it had become imperative to unseat it and install a government that would put smiles on the faces of the masses.
“PDP will win the forthcoming governorship election in Osun, Ekiti and the General Election in 2019,” Secondus said.
“APC should start packing their load because they cannot win and we will not succumb to any form of intimidation because we are on a mission to rescue the nation.”
A governorship aspirants in Osun State, Oluomo Gbenga Owolabi, expressed optimism that he would win the election through the party which, he assured, had the capacity to displace the APC at the polls.
He urged the party faithful to cast their votes for him based on the impact he had made on the lives of the people of the state, especially in infrastructure development.
In the same vein, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar urged the party members and leaders to unite ahead of the 2019 polls to be able to obtain a win against the APC.
Atiku added that the party would do everything possible to wrest power from the APC in 2019 and install a people-oriented government in the next administration.
Former governor of Jigawa State Alhaji Sule Lamido urged party members to be prepared to form a united front ahead of the General Elections and put the ruling APC out of power.
“I know you and you know me; let’s prepare for the 2019 General Election and obtain a well deserved victory,” Lamido said.
When Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose mounted the podium, he chanted a Yoruba song of victory, “Buhari alo, Buhari alo, Osinbajo a-tele” (“Buhari will go and Osinbajo will follow him”) to an uproarious response from the crowd.
Hours before the political campaign, the state capital was alive with activity and anticipation as thousands of party members and leaders from different parts of the South West trooped into the city, with the streets strewn with campaign posters of aspirants for governor, party flags, memorabilia, and campaign songs.
Presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar’s team hit Osogbo in large numbers singing, chanting tribute songs to the former Vice President and for the party’s victory at the General and governorship elections.
There was tight security as Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) with men and officers of the Nigerian Police who mounted surveillance in strategic areas.
Others armed officers moved around town to enforce and maintain public order.