APC begins reconciliation of aggrieved members

Akeredolu promises to serve public interest

The All Progressives Congress (APC) said it is now ready to reconcile aggrieved members in preparation for the November 26 election.

A statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Steve Otaloro, in Akure yesterday, said it was hopeful that there would be unity before the election.

The party had disagreement among its leaders in the September 3 primary that produced its candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

The party’s governorship candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, promised that he would not be subject to external influence, if elected.

The candidate, who spoke in an interview in Akure at the weekend, said his passion for service would restrain him from the influence of political godfathers.

He denied that he was under undue influence when he ran for governorship on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2012.

“We have come to show good governance to the people. Some of us have been leaders before now and this contest is just an opportunity for us to serve the people,” he said.

The candidate said tenets of democracy and rule of law would be his watchword, if elected.

Akeredolu, a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), said he could not have won the party’s ticket, if he were a tool of its national leader, Bola Tinubu.

He expressed dismay at the anti-party activities of some APC members, who are allegedly supporting the candidate of another political party.

“Now that we have one party and one candidate, we should also have one voice to fight for the people. We would run a state where the welfare of civil servants would be top priority,” he said.

He promised to make the local government administration more effective by conducting free and fair polls.

The candidate urged journalist to be fair in coverage of the election, adding that the crisis that hit the party after its governorship primary was partly due to rumours and misrepresented facts

Meanwhile, Akeredolu has lauded the ruling by Justice Okon Abang affirming Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP’s candidate at the governorship election.

Chairman of the Research and Communication, Mr. Kunle Adebayo, said it was a “triumph for common sense.”

“We also wish to stress that by this judgment, the judiciary has out rightly saved Ondo State, particularly the few good people in the PDP, from the arrogance of impunity and tragedy of godfatherism,” he said.