By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

A women group with the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State has urged the leadership of the party to allot the deputy governorship slot to female to brighten the chances of the party to win the August 8 poll.

The group, APC Women Vanguard, specifically urged the party to pick the female deputy governorship from Ile-Ife and preferably from the Christian community in the town.

In a communique issued after its meeting on Thursday and signed by its Coordinator Kikelomo Elempe and Secretary, Omolara Adedayo, they urged the party’s candidate to pick a Christian female as his running mate.

While assuring that such decision will put APC at advantage of securing over 300,000 votes in support of the party aside other factors, the group commended the leadership of APC for the unity, maturity, and discipline exhibited before, during, and after the Osun State Governorship primary election which produced Oyebamiji as consensus candidate.

The communiqué read in part “Arising from extensive consultations, we deem it imperative to draw the attention of the party leadership to the strategic importance of selecting a female running mate for our gubernatorial candidate, as this will significantly broaden the party’s electoral appeal and enhance its prospects of victory in the forthcoming election. In this regard, we strongly recommend that serious consideration be given to the Osun East Senatorial District.

“Available electoral statistics indicate that Osun East Senatorial District has a total of 689,708 registered voters, with Ile-Ife alone accounting for 343,707 voters across four local government areas, making it the single largest voting bloc in Osun State. This demographic advantage underscores the district’s strategic relevance to the APC’s electoral success.

“Consequently, we unanimously recommend that a competent female Christian indigene of Ile-Ife be considered as the running mate to Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji(AMBO).”

“Our membership strength, which exceeds 50,000 across the state, is expected to grow exponentially if female deputy governor is picked in the progressive. We will secure over 300,000 votes from women folks

“We are sure that the decision to pick a female running mate for AMBO will poll more votes considering the fact that the last two administrations picked male deputy governors, even the incumbent administration has largely sidelined women in governance, from the cabinet members to the House of Assembly, which currently has no female representation”.