- PDP Kicks Against Ganduje’s Reckless, Threatening Plot To Capture Ondo, S’ West
- Says Attempt By APC To Force Itself Upon Ondo State Will Be Strongly Resisted
- Accuses State REC Of Collaborating With APC Leaders, Displaying Clear Partisan Bias
The National Chairman of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Ganduje has come under scathing criticism over his recent comments on the forthcoming election in Ondo State.
Trouble had started when Ganduje, on Sunday vowed to ensure the party captures Ondo, Oyo, and Osun states.
Ganduje said the APC would triumph in the whole Southwest, starting with the Ondo governorship election on November 16.
Hear him: “In this geopolitical zone, we must deliver 100 per cent in favour of APC. Therefore, Ondo State, you must be at the forefront, the two other states – Oyo and Osun – we will capture them, but I will not reveal our secret. We are strategising. Everything must be 100 per cent behind President Bola Tinubu.
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“In this coming election, we are solidly behind Governor Aiyedatiwa. We have made arrangements at the national level to have a successful election and I announce Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the Chairman National Campaign Council.
“This election is a task that must be done. We are encouraged by this large crowd of stakeholders. It shows there is unity, solidarity, and vigour in the party.
“We are expecting 90 per cent votes in the forthcoming governorship election. You have to visit house to house, neighbour to neighbour and ensure that people come out to vote.”
Reacting to this, the PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba on Monday, described Ganduje’s comments as reckless and threatening.
He emphasized that the South-West has historically been a stronghold of opposition and democracy, expressing concern over Ganduje’s threats made during his visit to Ondo State.
“What Ganduje said about the APC’s plans to ‘capture’ Ondo and the South-West is both alarming and inappropriate,” Ologunagba stated.
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“The term ‘capture’ implies forceful control or occupation, and we will not accept being enslaved in our own land.
“Historically, attempts to impose control have led to significant unrest. The ‘wetie’ crisis in the 1960s and the National Party of Nigeria’s (NPN) efforts to impose Akin Omoboriowo as governor in 1983 both serve as reminders of what happens when the will of the people is disregarded.
“Any attempt by the APC to force itself upon the people of Ondo State will be met with strong resistance.”
The PDP also restated the call by Oyo State Governor Seun Makinde for the redeployment of the Ondo State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
The party accused the Ondo State REC of collaborating with APC leaders and displaying clear partisan bias.
Similarly, the Osun chapter of the PDP has also warned Ganduje to pay serious attention to the political history of the Southwest to assist him in making informed lines while making public comments about the region.
The warning was issued through a statement signed by Sunday Bisi, the Osun PDP chairman, on Monday.
PDP, while cautioning Ganduje over such reckless utterances capable of igniting citizens, which, in turn, could destabilise the country, insisted that the Osun people will decide their governor in the 2026 election.
“For a man who could not salvage his home state for the APC owing to his disastrous regime as governor of the state to start threatening fire and brimstone in the Southwest is not only reckless but absolutely insane,” the state PDP chairman said.
He described Ganduje’s postulation as a careless plot to plunge the Southwest into avoidable political turmoil in a country that is already on a stressed line of ethnic distrust and economic challenges.
“While Mr President continues to battle the depressed state of the nation’s economy, Mr Ganduje should be careful not to compound the situation by attempting barefaced election rigging, especially in the Southwest, as doing so will be nothing but stepping on a very dangerous cobra’s tail.
“If Mallam Ganduje failed as he did to cause war in Kano, where the APC was discarded for his harrowing reign in the state, he should be ready to face and accept similar verdicts in other states where the APC have failed the electorate.
“For us in Osun, we are used to such unstatemanly utterances, which resulted in a more disastrous outing for Ganduje’s party in the 2022 governorship election after his predecessor in office openly mandated APC thugs to invade and rig the election in Osun.
“This, Mr Ganduje must remember, irked the highly intelligent people of the state by voting aggressively against the then APC candidate, Gboyega Oyetola. The same fate, we want to assure, awaits APC in Osun State,” the statement concluded.
