The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, yesterday gave reasons why he visited Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State in the Government House at Oke-Fia, Osogbo.

He said the visit was informed by the need to solidify the support base for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2027 general elections, reciprocate Adeleke’s visit to his house during the recent demise of his mother and to congratulate the governor on his victory during August 15 gubernatorial election in the state.

Speaking to journslists shortly after the visit, Basiru explained that “my visit here is threefold, I want to thank His Excellency and also to return the visit he made to my house during the time I lost my mother. He also graciously attended the burial ceremonies for my mother.

“The second is also to congratulate him for his victory in the election, even though he defeated our candidate and our party in the election. You also know that yesterday our candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, also congratulated him. I also came to congratulate him for his victory in the election.

“Thirdly, also to thank him for endorsing my leader and our presidential candidate. To also say that we are ready to work together to ensure that we deliver Osun massively for President Bola Tinubu,” he remarked.

While disclosing that the APC was collaborating with the Accord and other political parties to deliver victory for Tinubu in 2027, Basiru said no effort will be spared to secure 1.5 million votes for Mr President in Osun during next year presidential election.

He stated, “Definitely you can even see from the last contest, you see, my party performed creditably well in that election, scoring 46 per cent of the votes.

In between the Accord and the APC, we have close to 1 million votes and with the presidential election, I think we should be looking to working together about 1.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu.

Basiru, who hinted that both Accord and the APC will merge structures for Tinubu’s campaign, said the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had already started rooting for the president re-election bid in Anambra, including other South East states.

Commenting on post-election violence in Osun, he submitted: “I think the violence has subsided because they also want us to sustain that peace. Particularly the National Union of Road Transport Workers, we want to enjoin them to resolve whatever issues they have about leadership in a peaceful manner.

“We also want to enjoin the Osun people. Election has come and gone, all of us belong to this place, we must work to ensure that we have meaningful infrastructure and a good living for the people of Osun. So that is my message.”

Earlier during the visit, Adeleke reaffirmed his readiness to work for the re-election of Tinubu, just as he underscored the need to place the collective interest of Osun and Nigeria above political, religious and ethnic divides.