Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said the party is united to ensure victory for its Ekiti governorship candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, during Saturday’s election in the state.
Tinubu said all quarrels and squabbles in the APC family had been resolved and the party is approaching Saturday’s governorship poll and next year’s general election as a united house that is ready to crush the opposition.
Speaking in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, at the APC mega rally held ahead of the June 18 governorship election, Tinubu, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, said the Ekiti poll is an opportunity to make a statement that the Yoruba is ready for the presidency next year.
The entry of Tinubu into the arena at 1.40 pm enlivened the crowd who greeted the presidential candidate with deafening ovation and applause to the admiration of the guests.
APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, who led other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to the rally, presented the governorship flag to Oyebanji who was joined by his running mate, Monisade Afuye, and the wife of the candidate, Olayemi Oyebanji.
The rally which was witnessed by a huge crowd was attended by all APC governors: Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) who were all introduced by the host Governor, Kayode Fayemi.
Tinubu, who had arrived the state on Monday, had prior to the rally, presented Oyebanji to the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, during a courtesy visit to the palace. in company with Fayemi and other APC leaders.
He told the crowd of supporters that President Buhari asked him to bring the message of newfound love, stability, oneness and unity in the party to its members and electorate in Ekiti to achieve total victory on Saturday and general election in 2023.
Going down the memory lane, Tinubu recalled the developments that led to the formation of APC in 2013 with the merger of legacy parties which successfully dislodged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he described as “Poverty Development Party” from power at the 2015 general election.
The presidential flag bearer said Nigerians further trusted the party by re-electing it to continue in power in the 2019 general election commending Buhari for supporting the clamour for return of power to the South in 2023 with him (Tinubu) as the symbol for the unity of the country.
The former Lagos State governor threw his weight behind the election of Oyebanji, noting that internal rancour within the party has now become a thing of the past and it is now united to achieve victory on Saturday to signpost its readiness to retain power at the centre in 2023.