ubamobile

access ad

ziva

Sun. Jun 15th, 2025 4:05:54 AM
Spread the love

The victorious All Progressives Congress ( APC) candidate in the Ondo governorship  election, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu said the reason he did not acknowledge a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in his victory speech on Sunday was because it was not important for him to do so.

He said his acknowledgements of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the recognised national leader of the party, and the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, were enough.

Akeredolu said this while answering State House correspondents’ questions shortly after he and his deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, met Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council in Ondo State, Simon Lalong, led them to the meeting, which was their first after their victory.

The governor-elect, who said the relationship between him and Tinubu was cordial, explained that mentioning the name of the former Lagos State governor specifically would have amounted to him mentioning the names of about 37 other leaders of the party.

He said, “On the names that were mentioned in my speech when expressing gratitude and that I didn’t specifically thank Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I thanked the President and the leader of our party profusely for the leadership which he showed leading to this election.

“I also thanked our indefatigable chairman for standing by the truth and for his position on this matter that led to this election. I have no reason to do otherwise.

“Party structure, to the best of my knowledge, is very clear. You have the leadership of the party and that is represented by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

“After an election, a chief executive emerges, he becomes a leader of the party, you don’t have to personalise and be looking for leaders all over the place.

“If we have to do that, then I will have to mention 36 or 37 leaders. So, I believe the leadership as represented by the President covers all leaders and that tells me it would include Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it would include even Baba Akande, (Ogbonnaya) Onu, and so many leaders.

“But President Buhari is the leader of the party. So, that is my position there.”

Akeredolu, however, added that Tinubu remained one of the leaders of the party, noting that he (Tinubu) had since sent congratulatory message to him after he won the election.

 

About the author: Emmanuel Asiwe admin
Tell us something about yourself.

By admin