From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has described the June 18 Ekiti State governorship election as a must win for the ruling party.
Speaking while inaugurating the 61-man National Campaign Council, the former Nasarawa State governor reminded the committee that since the poll is the first the National Working Committee (NWC) is conducting, they cannot afford to lose the ticket.
He particularly warned the committee not to come home crying, instead of delivering a positive result, emphasising that President Muhammadu Buhari is so enthusiastic about positive result from the election.
He however, promised to ensure that the party will be guided by the rules of engagement for elections, observer every rule, every guideline and hope that those who will be responsible for overseeing the compliance will be fair arbiters, and fair referees.
“We are inaugurating a committee that will take charge of Campaign and marketing of our candidate. The primary was hitch-free, the fact that no one is challenging the outcome is a very big kudos for the Ekiti chapter of our great party.
“With this inauguration today, we are giving you a matching order as the campaign council and our great people of Ekiti State particularly our own good people of Ekiti State on the platform of our great party, the APC.
“Ekiti is the first election that we will be having in this dispensation of APC. God has blessed our lives, God has blessed my life and my political career. Once there is a contest, there will be a winner and a loser, we are never on the losing side.
“But we don’t take that for granted. We are going to work as hard as we can to ensure that we deliver our gubernatorial candidate as the next governor of Ekiti State. As we inaugurate this Committee, I have one thing in the marching order of this party and that is don’t come home crying, don’t come home crying. If there’s a crying, let them go and cry for their principals, not us.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is at the beginning of his trip out of the Presidential Villa. He made no secret of it. He is a man of honour, he seeks no extension, he made it public in this very hall that used to be our NEC hall. He said it that he has been elected for a second time. He is under oath as president to protect and preserve the Nigerian constitution.
“The Nigerian constitution has given him two terms of four years each, he was starting his second term and at the end of it, he doesn’t intend to and doesn’t ask for anybody to ask for a third term or any elongation of tenure.
“Recently, he made the same pronouncement sometimes early this year. So we are on a bound like him to see that he has soft landing and that is to deliver this party to victory and Ekiti State is the first test.
“So, he takes this election very seriously, we would try to do as much as possible, we will be guided by the rules of engagement for elections, we will observer every rule, every guideline and we do hope that those who will be responsible for overseeing the compliance will be fair arbiters, will be fair referees, will be fair umpires,” he appealed.
In his own speech, the party’s National Organizing Secretary, Argungu Muhammed, stressed the importance of the election to the party.
“We as a party are commencing the last-mile journey to retaining the Government of Ekiti State under the direction, influence, and purposeful leadership of President Buhari and the APC.
“Recall that the party had conducted a rancor-free governorship primary election where Biodun Oyebanji emerged the Ekiti State gubernatorial candidate without any of the aspirants sustaining any sorts of action against his triumph at the governorship election Petitions Tribunal nor at any court of law for that matter.
“This is indicative of the cherished democratic ethos of our great Party and suggestive of our determination to go into the Ekiti State gubernatorial election and, any other Election for that matter, with a united front that will ensure the party’s victory at the poll,” he noted.