By Clifford Ndujihe
LAGOS — The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, governorship candidate in Ogun State, Mr. Olawale Okunniyi, has congratulated Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, for his victory at the polls.

In a statement yesterday, Okunniyi accepted the polls result, felicitated with Amosun and urged him to form a coalition government to move the state forward.

His words: “I, Olawale Okunniyi, the gubernatorial candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, after careful study of the outcome of the April 26, 2011elections in Ogun State, as released this afternoon by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Deacon Martins Okunfolami, hereby wish to express my acceptance of the results of the election as endorsed by my agents.

“While felicitating with the winner of the keenly contested election, Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, I wish to sincerely advise him and the leadership of ACN in the state to avoid pursuing zero sum or winner takes all game but to be inclusive in forming a coalition government that can neutralise the tendency for undue political acrimony for the incoming government.”

Okunniyi said the outcome of the polls confirmed that he was the duly recognised governorship candidate of the CPC in Ogun State contrary to “to last minute negative press and campaign of calumny of blacklegs and fifth columnists in the Ogun State chapter of CPC, who went to town wickedly misinforming and demobilising our supporters.”

He lamented that the campaign of calumny made some of his supporters to vote for the Social Democratic Mega Party, SDMP (his former platform that teamed up with the CPC) and said he had directed his lawyers “to institute a legal action against all those involved in propagating the damaging falsehood that prompted most of my supporters to vote for my former party, the SDMP in the governorship elections.”