Fifteen members of the Ondo state House of Assembly have thrown their weights behind the aspiration of the governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to pick the ticket of the All Progressives Congress APC ahead of the party’s primary election slated for April 25, Vanguard newspaper reports.
Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon. Olamide Oladiji disclosed this on Monday, March 25, 2024, in Abuja when he led 12 of his colleagues on a courtesy call to the National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Speaking after the meeting with Dr Ganduje, the speaker said; “We are here to appreciate our leader, the National Chairman of the largest party in Africa, Alhaji Umar Ganduje. We are here to appreciate him for his quick intervention in the political crisis that erupted in Ondo State a few months ago, and that quick intervention and that of Mr. President, led to a peaceful resolution and also to appreciate him for making himself physically present in the burial ceremony of our late governor, Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu.
“We are here also to tell him that as far as we are concerned, those of us around, among our members, and those who are on their way, that we are fully in support of the continuity of APC-led government. We are in support of continuity. We want APC to continue with the government of Ondo State. We believe it will work out and we are giving them 100% assurance that the primary elections will be peaceful.
“In respect of the letter that some few members of the House of Representatives wrote to Mr. President, we disagree with the letter. And because we are honourable members representing our various constituencies and we have almost 15 of us here present. You know what it means, we have 22 APC members in the House of Assembly. We have 13 here now and another two are on their way coming. So that is about 15, and if we are telling you that the state under the leadership of Mr. Governor is at peace, you know, we mean what we are saying and then apart from that also, for now, the appointment he has done is just for six commissioners, and he did it you know senatorial district by senatorial district, two per senatorial district, of which it is still very okay.
“Like those people who are complaining I want to believe that they have not been coming to Ondo State to witness what is going on there. They are permanently in Abuja here. We are the ones who are closer to the grassroots. We know what is going on in Ondo State.
“And then concerning the last question.
Maybe I should put the question to my members. Do we have anyone of you that want to contest against Aiyedatiwa?
“They said they believe in continuity and let me use this opportunity to put the records straight. Ad far as we are concerned, we are not here to come and deceive the people of Nigeria. His achievements, the achievements of the incumbent governor are out there. Presently, he has started the recruitment of 2000 workers in the academic sector, and the most important thing is that he did not stop the legacy started by the late governor. He directed all the contractors to go back to the site of which everybody in the state applauded. So what I am trying to say in essence is that as I am talking to you now, all the contractors are now on sites working and other projects too are ongoing in Ondo State. And there iss a synergy now between the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. There is peace in Ondo State and we are all working together. We are praying together and I can give you 100% assurance that our primary elections come April is going to be very peaceful”.
The speaker also dismissed allegations that the governor may have betrayed his late boss, saying the constitution is clear on who should succeed the dead in the circumstance.
Ondo: 15 APC Lawmakers Back Aiyedatiwa For Governorship
