Buhari, Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, APC Govs storm Osun for Oyetola’s re-election rally

BLESSING AKOROWOSI, Osogbo

 

 Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, President Muhammadu Buhari; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate and National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; Chairman, APC National Campaign Council for Osun State Governorship election and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, 11 governors and party leaders on Tuesday converged on the Osogbo Stadium for mega rally in support of the re-election of Governor Gboyega Oyetola.

President Buhari, Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, APC governors and leaders while speaking during the campaign rally, unanimously endorsed Governor Oyetola and urged the people of Osun State to vote for APC to ensure continuity of the lofty projects embarked upon by the APC-led administration in the State.

 

Speaking during the rally attended by thousands of residents of Osun State, President Buhari urged the electorate to come out in large numbers and vote for Governor Oyetola for continuity of good governance in the State of Osun.

He said Governor Oyetola deserved to be re-elected to consolidate what he had done in his first term.

Buhari, who was represented by Tinubu, raised Oyetola’s hand as the APC’s governorship candidate and appealed to all the people of Osun State to re-elect him.

“Go out with your PVCs and vote massively for APC and Governor Oyetola on Saturday. Think about your children and vote for Oyetola for a better future for them.

 

“You must all go out in large crowd on Saturday to re-elect Governor Oyetola. Don’t be deceived by PDP and other mushrooms parties. We must vote and defeat them,” Tinubu charged the people of Osun State.

The Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, said Osun State in the last three and half years had witnessed great development and growth under the leadership of Governor Oyetola.

He described Oyetola as a prudent and good manager of human and material resources, adding that the governor has done a lot in his first term for him to be re-elected during the Saturday’s governorship poll.

Lawan said leaders and members of the APC, especially members of the APC caucus in the National Assembly are fully in support of the party and Oyetola in Osun State.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in his address said his Osun State counterpart had performed very well in his first term and he is deserving of another term.

Sanwo-Olu, who is the Chairman of the APC National Campaign Council for Osun State Governorship election, said the electorate must vote and ensure that their votes count on Saturday.

He said: “Governor Oyetola has performed extremely well. He is deserving of another term. I have gone on campaign train with him and from what I have seen and heard, he has done very well.

“Don’t allow anybody to deceive you. There is no crisis in APC. We are united in our party.

“I want to urge you all to vote for APC and Governor Oyetola on Saturday so that he can continue the good work he is doing in Osun State. By God’s grace, we will come back for victory dance on Sunday.”

APC National Chairman, Senator Adamu while presenting the APC flag to Oyetola said the party is impressed by the good performance of the Osun State Governor and that is why it is supporting him for re-election.

 

He appealed to genuine APC members and the electorate to turn out in large numbers on Saturday to vote for Governor Oyetola.

 

“We are taking no chances and that is why we came out in full force to support our candidate, Governor Gboyega Oyetola.”

 

“Governor Oyetola has done so much since assuming the office of Governor in Osun State. He did very well during his first term and he deserved to be re-elected.

 

We pray for better performance in Osun than what we scored during the Ekiti State governorship election.”

 

Speaking on behalf of the Progressives Governors Forum, the Chairman of the forum and Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu, assured the people of Osun State of good governance if they re-elect Oyetola for second term.

 

Atiku who reiterated the support of President Buhari, APC governors and party leaders for Oyetola, said the ruling party has done very well at the state and national levels to deserve continuity in office.

 

In their goodwill messages, Kano State Governor and co-chairman of the campaign council, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who addressed the rally in Hausa and Igbo languages appealed to the people of Osun State to re-elect Oyetola for him to be able to complete the good work he has started in the state.

Appreciating the massive support from President Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu, APC governors and the party leaders as well as the people of Osun State, Governor Oyetola promised to do more than what he did for the people of his State during the first term.

“I will continue to deliver on my campaign promises. I want you to give me another opportunity to serve you for another term. You will enjoy me in my second term more than the first term.

 

“Don’t allow anybody to buy your future. You are honourable people. Come out on Saturday and vote for APC on Saturday,” he said.

 

The rally was attended by Governors, members of the National Working Committee of APC, ministers, members of National Assembly, party leaders, among others.

 

Also, The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has announced the deployment of five National Commissioners, twelve Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and many senior officials ahead of the Osun State election to support the State office for a credible poll.

 

The electoral commission disclosed that, of the 1,955,657 registered voters in the State, 76% which amounts to 1,479,595 have collected their cards as at Sunday, 10th of July 2022 adding that the collection exercise would be concluded on Thursday, July 14th.

 

Speaking during a Stakeholders meeting organised by INEC in Osogbo on Tuesday, the chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu called for the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal.

 

This, according to him will help curb vote-buying and other sundry violations of the electoral law.

 

Prof. Yakubu said, “it is obvious that the more the Commission and other stakeholders work hard to progressively improve the quality of national elections in Nigeria, the more some retrogressive elements try to undermine the process.

 

“While we will continue to work with the security and anti-corruption agencies to confront this challenge, our effort will be given a boost by the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal as recommended by the Uwais Committee in 2009, reinforced by the Lemu Committee in 2011 and the Nnamani Committee in 2017. INEC supports this initiative and appeals to the National Assembly for a speedy conclusion and passage of the Bill into law.”

 

Giving details of their preparations, he said “the Commission has accredited Polling Agents nominated by political parties for the 3,763 polling units, 332 Ward collation centres, 30 Local Government Area collation centres and the State Collation Centre where the final declaration of result will be made.

 

“As an indication of the intense national and international interest in the 2022 Osun State Governorship Election, 87 Observer groups (79 domestic and 8 international) deploying a total of 7,790 field observers have been accredited for the election. Similarly, 94 media organisations (92 national and 2 international) deploying 624 journalists have been accredited to cover the election.

 

“On Election Day, the national headquarters of INEC in Abuja will monitor the election throughout the State. Our Zoom Situation Room will be activated. We are working to ensure that accredited observers and the media are invited to join us at intervals to provide live reports from the field. At the same time, citizens can contact us on our various platforms such as the toll-free INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC) telephone line in addition to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.”

 

The INEC chairman assured that the issue of transparency, inclusivity and credibility of the election, alongside security and peaceful conduct are well considered in their preparations.

 

Earlier in his address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Prof. Abdulganiy Raji stated that all non-sensitive materials have been batched to Polling Unit level and are ready to be conveyed to the RACs.

 

“Sensitive materials should arrive today, Production of Maps of all Polling Units in the State both electronically and hardcopy for ease of movement and location of Polling Units by the Staff of INEC, Poll Officials are trained and ready for deployment, Security Personnel in the State has been trained.

 

“INEC had met with Stakeholders in their categories while this particular meeting is the final one towards the July 16 Election, conduct of Mock Accreditation in selected LGAs to ensure the functionality of BVAS and readiness assessment of  the election process,” he added.

 

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