Ismail Omipidan
A businessman and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Omoba Tunde Ajibulu, has put a lie to reports making the round that he wants to run for the Kogi State governorship.The election is slated for November this year.
Ajibulu, who said he had no intention of becoming governor of the state, added that on the contrary, he is prepared to support any candidate from Kogi East that can rescue the state from its present economic quagmire.
The Lagos- based businessman, who spoke at his country home, Ekirin/Adde, during this year’s community day, said that contrary to the claim by the state secretary of the party, he is not a “foreigner and diaspora politician”.
“I urge our party members to see beyond their personal gains when choosing the party standard bearer for the November poll, because the state has suffered enough,” he said.
Questioning the APC’s secretary’s membership of the party, Ajibulu further said:“I’m an APC card carrying member since January 2014. I registered in my village ward. I wonder when the state party secretary, joined APC?
“I was a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council serving in the logistics department and went to campaign with President Buhari in at least 17 states! I was part of those who were sent to Anambra to conduct the congresses, so while I don’t want to join issues with the Kogi APC secretary, I will advise him to do a thorough research next time instead of casting wild aspersions. Labelling me a foreigner in my state and the APC is laughable.”
On why he will not be presenting himself for the governorship, the APC chieftain further said: “Let me state categorically that I’m not running for governorship – it’s a concocted rumour from the extreme imagination of the Kogi factional APC state secretary.
I have always posited that for the good of APC in the November 2019 election, the governorship candidate must come from Kogi East and I will support any Kogi East candidate that emerges in the coming APC primaries.
“I call on the party members and the Kogi State people to vote their conscience in the primaries and the coming governorship election for a better Kogi State.
“We must disabuse our people’s minds from money politics. Please collect their money and vote your conscience’,’ he stated.