Ondo Guber: We Willl Not Take PDP for Granted, Says Sanwo-Olu

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Chairman, National Campaign Council of All Progressives Congress (APC) for Ondo governorship election and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the ruling party would not take the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for granted in the forthcoming election.

He however added that the main opposition party should not bother campaigning as the election was for APC to lose.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed this Saturday while addressing journalists after the inauguration of the National Campaign Council for Ondo governorship election at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

He said, “They (PDP) really should not waste their time, but election is something that is not over until it is all over. So, we are not going to take anybody for granted. We are going for an election and it is going to be issues-based. We will ensure that we campaign for the people of Ondo State to see the need to continue with the progressive government that they have. He (Rotimi Akeredolu) is doing very well, we have seen it, he still has the capacity, he has the energy to further advance what he is currently doing. So that is why we are with him and we know he will do that.”

Sanwo-Olu explained that the Campaign Council which had 104 members was indeed large, but it was an indication of the commitment of the members to serve the party.

He added: “What we just had inside was the inauguration of the national campaign council for Ondo governorship election and I have been sworn-in as the chairman of that council and your first observation was that we had a really large number. It is a reflection of how many number of people truly want to serve our party. It is a reflection of how committed our members are and how passionate they are to continue to serve the party at the national level.”

The governor added it was an indication that the members of the party are willing to serve and deliver the election that will return Rotimi Akeredolu as the executive governor of Ondo State.

Asked if being the chairman of the campaign council was an endorsement of Akeredolu’s candidature by the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu said Akeredolu’s endorsement was collective.

He stated: “The endorsement was not only his endorsement but a collective endorsement. In this endorsement you saw Senator Borrofice, you have seen our brother, Olusola Oke, you see meetings where Kekemeke was in attendance, you see meetings where Dr. Abraham was in attendance. After the party they all came together even before our choice of the National Council. In Ondo State, they have resolved their problem themselves and all of them said we are supporting the candidate of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu so it is a unified thing.

“But we know that the most critical thing is the people of Ondo State. It is about good governance, it is about what he is doing. It is not an easy job but we believe in him, we believe that what he has started as a true progressive he will take Ondo to higher level.”

Earlier, the governor of Yobe State and Chairman, APC Caretaker/extraordinary National Convention Committee, Mai Mala Buni, said the task before the council was to seek for the renewal of Akeredolu’s mandate.

He stressed that the chairman and members of the council were carefully selected based on their personal records of hard work, proven integrity and commitment to the ideals of our dear party.

Buni said he had no doubt in his mind that the rich cream of personalities on this council, with vast electioneering experience, would once again secure the mandate of the people of Ondo state, for the party and its candidate.