….Direct primary adopted

….We’ll conduct free,fair credible primary

By Dayo Johnson, Akure

Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, in Ondo state, Ade Adetimehin, has said that President Bola Tinubu, would be proud of the partys candidate that emerged after the April 20 primary election in the state.

Addressing governorship aspirants at a stakeholders meeting held in Akure, the state capital, Adetimehin, assured the best candidate would emerged during the primary election.

Adetimehin confirmed that direct mode of primary has been adopted by the party leadership for the April 20 election.

According to him, our Party has adopted the Direct mode of primary in the conduct of the 25th April, 2024 gubernatorial primary election for the first time in the history of such previous elections held by it in our State.

The chairman promised that the party and the aspirants would not disappoint the President, as the best candidate would be elected.

He said that “It is no exaggeration to say that the quality of governorship aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket in the primary election represent the best materials the State can ever have; comprising of individuals with great knowledge and wisdom, experiences, exposures, extensive political network and notable achievements in their chosen career.

“All of them have represented the State and the Nation creditably at one time or the other and even now.

“We must leverage on this amazing human capital that we have to pick any of them, to clinch the ticket and take the Party to victory during the Saturday November 16, 2024 governorship election.

“You will agree with me however, that we have a big task ahead; our journey as a Party in the past seven years has not been without trials and tribulations, but it is in our resolve in overcoming these challenges that we discover our true strength.

“As we move forward, we must acknowledge the pressing issues that may likely confront us – issues that require our collective action, courage and commitment.

“The greatest challenge before us is the need to keep a united front for the Party before and after the forthcoming primary election.

” Let me assure you that the State Working Committee and the State Executive Committee under my leadership will do our utmost to fulfill our responsibilities in spite of any kind of challenges to ensure we provide a level playing ground for a free, fair, credible and smooth primary election.

“We will also ensure that due process is followed in all Party decisions and we shall abide by all extant laws, rules, guidelines as provided by the National Working Committee with a view to enable Party members to vote the best candidate of their choice.

“At this juncture, let me warm that the Party will not tolerate any form of acrimony, violence, thuggery, name calling, hate-speeches, destruction of bill boards (which are supposed to promote not only the aspirant, but more importantly the Party) and disruption of meetings or any form of unproductive dichotomy.

“Let me inform you that a Disciplinary Committee would be put in place, where all infractions would be looked into in line with the Party’s Constitution.

“Permit me to reiterate the importance of this exercise as the first gubernatorial primary election to be held in the South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria where our national leader and sitting President hails from.

“Let me humbly commend the visionary and transformational leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, a well tutored leader in the ideology of progressive politics, a Party man to the core, and of course a leader with an uncommon determination to build a more formidable country by putting her on the path of total economic recovery through his Renewed Hope Agenda.

“We cannot afford to fail or send wrong signals from the President’s political base to other political actors in other geopolitical zones by not getting our acts right during the exercise.

“Towards this end, all hands must be on deck to achieve our collective aspiration of getting the best candidate to secure the Party’s ticket during the primary election and win in the November 16, 2024 governorship election.

“This, no doubt, is the real need of the time and should therefore be our greatest common interest for now. Let us all engage in actions that will propel our Party to a great victory through a hitch-free primary election.

” By so doing, we would ensure the preservation of progressive ideals in governance and up the graph of democratic governance in our State.

Adetimehin noted that ” we must be mindful of the fact that we have no other Party to call our own; we are members of the same Party, bonded by one umbilical cord; APC is our Party, APC is your Party, APC is my Party.

Speaking on behalf of the aspirants, Olugbenga Edema, thanked the party for the stakeholders meeting to intimate them of the guidelines for the coming primary election.

Edema said that the aspirants would study the guidelines and assured that campaigns would be done with decorum any form of acrimony, violence and thuggery.

Only three of 12 governorship aspirants attended while other sent their representatives. Those present include Olugbenga Edema, Soji Ehinlanwo and Colin’s Oladunjoye.