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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
In a bid to ensure total victory for its presidential candidate in the 2023 election, the South West chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has set up an advisory committee that will work with the zonal executives and leaders of the party.
The APC National Vice Chairman (South West), Hon Isaac Kekemeke, disclosed this to newsmen after a zonal executive meeting at the APC state secretariat in Oke Ado, Ibadan, on Wednesday.
According to Kekemeke, the committee would be headed by a former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
“It would be co-chaired by our leader, former national vice chairman, the first elected national vice chairman of the party in the zone, Chief Pius Olu Akinyelure.
“Other members are Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi, he is also a former national vice chairman of the party under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN); Pastor Bamidele Oluwajana, the immediate national vice chairman (South West); Chief Henry Ajomole, former chairman of the party in Lagos State; and Mr. Vincent Bewaji, the South West zonal secretary, will also serve as secretary to the committee,” he said.
Kekemeke, who is a former commissioner in Ondo State, said the party has also set up six reconciliation committees that will be visiting each of the South West states, adding that the commitees would be headed by eminent members of the party from the zone.
“Today, we will also make available to you, what we have called the South West Special Committee on eminent persons engagement. We have noticed and resolved that we need every leader of the party to participate actively in the process of making this presidency a reality. We believe that many of our leaders who are not active are with us in spirit, but we want them to be with us in soul and body. We have decided that we are bringing as many that are lying low up to participate actively.
“If there are things to be sorted out, we need to sort them out quickly before elections. So the South West Special Committee on eminent persons engagement would be chaired by the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Senator Iyiola Omisore, National Secretary of the party, who is from this zone, the national vice chairman of the party, myself, would be a member of the special committee.
“All the six state chairmen of the party in the zone, namely Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Ogun and Oyo are members and to represent the women in the zone, we have decided that, the zonal woman leader will join the committee and the national ex-officio. In a short while, all of our leaders who are seemingly lukewarm will come on board, so that we can deliver total victory that we desire and deserve for our presidential candidate, governorship candidates, national assembly candidates and for our House of Assembly candidates,” Kekemeke said.
While drumming support for the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Kekemeke said the party is determined to change the narrative and ensure victory for the former Lagos State Governor.
“We must ensure that what happened to Chief Awolowo did not happen again; what happened to Abiola must not happen again. We have a lifetime chance to produce the president of Nigeria and we can not afford to play with it as a party.
“And as people that have been charged with the responsibility of managing the party in this zone, it has become a passion and obsession to us to deliver impressively for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Some npeople have said that it sounds sentimental and my answer has always been why not? If the best candidate is from a zone, if the most experience of all the candidates is from a zone, if the man with the antecedent is from a zone, why wouldn’t you be proud of it and why wouldn’t you tell your people not to do anything funny? Why wouldn’t you tell your people to love themselves?
“It’s not just for the fact that he is from here; the fact is that he is the best. We are lucky and we are proud of him and we will not hesitate to ensure his victory. Every true son and daughter of Yoruba land should rally round this our own that is the best to become president of Nigeria in May, 2023,” the national vice chairman added.
Those at the press briefing include Deputy National Auditor, Olufemi Egbedeyi; National Ex-officio ( South West), Mrs Bunmi Oriniowo; Zonal Secretary, Vincent Bewaji; Zonal Legal Adviser, Kolawole Majoro; Zonal Organising Secretary, Lateef Ibirogba; Zonal Publicity Secretary, Mr Ayo Afolabi; Zonal Women Leader, Mrs Yetunde Adesanya; Ekiti State APC chairman, Paul Omotoso and Oyo State APC chairman, Isaac Omodewu.