Leaders
of All Progressives Congress (APC) from all over the country were in
Ado-Ekiti, on Wednesday, to endorse the party’s candidate in the June 21
governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and hand the
party’s flag to him to contest the election.
Before
the official commencement of the grand rally attended by the national
chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, its national leaders, General
Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Bola Tinubu, governors from the
APC-controlled states and national leaders of the party, its publicity
secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced that the rally would be scaled
down owing to the killings in Jos.
He
said the party had to go ahead with the rally because it had already
been scheduled, saying “we are constrained to be here because we cannot
change the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) time table,”
and added that “we will cut down the fanfare because of the mood in the
country.”
Among
those who spoke at the event held at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado
Ekiti, were General Buhari, Tinubu, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu while Governor
Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, spoke on behalf of the governors on the
eagis of Progressives Governors Forum, while Chief Akande, presented the
flag to Governor Fayemi.
Buhari,
who spoke against the rising wave of killings in Nigeria, disclosed
that the APC had competent hands to turn around the fortunes of the
country, particularly at this critical period when the nation is at
crossroad.
“APC
has competent hands to steer the ship of the nation . It is a party I
believe and have conviction that can bring Nigeria out of its present
situation,” Buhari said.
Tinubu,
who spoke on the same national issue, said “APC is the cure to
Nigeria’s headache in the areas of unemployment, killings, ineptitude
and in Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi is the Doctor.
“I
don’t have to sell Fayemi to you again because his landmark
achievements in all facets has shown his values. I commend you for
standing by our party, but this can only manifest if you refuse to sell
your votes or be bought over by the PDP on the day of election.
“You
have nothing to fear on the day of election. No police or soldier can
intimidate you because it is we Nigerians that pay their salaries. The
June 21 election is an opportunity for you to show to the PDP that it
has been rejected by Nigerians.
Speaking
on behalf of the Progressive Governors’ Forum , Governor Okorocha,
his counterparts in Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Governor Adams
Oshiomole of Edo State, said their supports for Fayemi was borne out of
the solid and enduring legacies he has laid in Ekiti in the last four
years.
Okorocha,
who particularly rued the level of carnage in the Northern part of the
country, said “Nigerians must reject the PDP in all elections. When the
wicked are in power, the people will suffer but when the righteous are
there, the people rejoice.
“If
not for the fact that Fayemi has identified interest to be Governor of
Ekiti State, he is qualified to be Governor anywhere in the country,” he
said.
Governor
Fayemi, who commended the people for their supports, said Ekiti cannot
afford to impose mediocrity on itself in the name of politics,
expressing confidence that he will triumph over his challengers in the
June 21 poll.
He
said he has been able to run a government that has impacted positively
on the lives of the people in the last three and half years rather than
what was obtainable in the past when government are being run to the
benefit of a few individuals.
Fayemi
said, “What we have been able to achieve in this first term are not my
achievements alone; they are yours as well. In the past close to four
years, what we have seen are the first fruits of what can happen when we
pull together and work together. By the grace of God and with your
invaluable help, we are once again lifting the flag of our great party
to run in the gubernatorial race, and we are confident you will give us
your vote.
“Elections
are choices and as we prepare for the polls to be held on Saturday,
June 21, 2014, it is important that we understand that the elections
will go beyond merely choosing between people or parties.
They
are about choosing the principles that we want to define us and what
sort of Ekiti State we want to build. Consequently, the governorship
elections will confront us with an ideological and a moral choice.
“Our
opponents believe in a society of laissez faire individualism in which
every man is for himself or on his own and only the richest can survive.
They
are seeking a society based on caballocracy and godfatherism, where the
rich get richer and the poor are made poorer; where our commonwealth is
used to serve the interests and appetites of a minority; where crumbs
are thrown at the hapless majority; and the future of our children is
mortgaged to pay for the illicit luxuries of a few people today.
“We,
on the other hand, believe that Ekiti is the test case for what we call
a compassionate society – a society defined by covenatal relationships
between the government and the governed, the state and civil society and
between fellow citizens”.
REF http://tribune.com.ng/news/top-stories/item/5838-why-we-went-ahead-with-ekiti-mega-rally-apc-akande-tinubu-buhari-apc-govs-grace-event
No comments:
Post a Comment