By Bisade Ojoye
The incumbent governor of Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and two other former governors: Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Chief Segun Osoba have promised the people of the state more dividends of democracy as the party commences electioneering campaign.
The trio who made this promises yesterday at the commissioning of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign office and the inauguration of Campaign Council for the 2023 elections on Saturday at the state capital, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta assured that they would embarked on realistic and constructive issue-based campaign when their party’s campaign kicks off.
Speaking on the occasion, Prince Dapo Abiodun said his administration had in the last three and a half years embarked on people’s oriented projects, assuring that his second term campaign would focus on how to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people.
“We must engage in constructive and issue based campaign in line with the provisions of the electoral and rule of engagements. We have done more than enough projects to ease our campaign while we promiseto do more for the benefits of the people in our second term.
He said as they would proceed to meet the people to seek their votes in this campaign for all their candidates in the state, he assured that his administration would remain unwaveringly committed to the equitable development of the state and the implementation of people-oriented and purposeful infrastructure, in line with their policy of inclusiveness and good governance.
Abiodun disclosed that his administration had lower the political temperature in the state by being tolerant and respectful of the activities of all political parties in Ogun and continued to create a level playing ground for all individuals irrespective of their political affiliations, unlike the previous administration that turned the period of campaign into war and tried to unleashed terror on oppositions.
The Governor who enumerated the numerous projects and achievements recorded in the last three years and six months to include construction of over 800 kilometres of roads; affordable houses; renovation of schools and health facilities; youth and women empowerment; agriculture, among others said his second term would focus on
areas such as provision of uninterrupted power to the major cities, towns and industrial hubs; project light up Ogun; provision of water supply by carrying out the major overhauling of Arakanga Water Works to make water available for the people of Abeokuta and its environs, among other projects.
Abiodun stated that efforts would be geared towards sustaining the peaceful atmosphere of the state in order to attract more investors by deploying technology for surveillance and crime detection, saying that security was important on the grounds that No investor would invest in an unsecured environment, promising would continue to provide Hilux vans, Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and other logistics for their security agencies in the state”.
He stated further that a Special Intervention Programme that would benefit over 40, 000 people in the first instance, implementation of the multimodal transport master plan, as well as the completion of the Agro Cargo at Iperu Remo; construction of a Dry Port at Kajola and a logistics hub at Wasinmi; leveraging on the abundance of oil resources in Tongeji Island and Olokola would be given due attention
He added that the state, under his watch would intensify efforts at improving the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), to be able to generated enough revenue in order to be able to implement his administration’s developmental agenda.
Abiodun, however, charged the campaign council members to live up to expectation by winning Ogun for the progressives again in the presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, House of Reps and the House of Assembly elections, advising that their party’s campaign should penetrate and permeate the grassroots for the good of our party”.
In his goodwill message, the former governor of Ogun State and the grand Patron of the Campaign Council, Olusegun Osoba stressed the need for the people to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards, as available record showed that the south west has the highest number of unclaimed Voter’s Cards in the country.
He warned that Ogun State which had remained the cradle of progressive ideals in the country should not lag behind, hence charged party loyalists to step up in the promotion of the symbol of the party which is the broom, and support for the party’s candidates for all the elective positions in the forthcoming elections.
Also speaking, former governor Gbenga Daniel (OGD) who described Governor Abiodun as a Master Chess player who was able to bring people of divergent political ideologies together, said it was time for the people to come together and work for the good of the party in the coming elections.
Daniel who is the Senatorial candidate of APC in the Ogun East Senatorial district poured encomiums on the incumbent governor and encouraged him to apply his master strokes in the pursuit of the party’s aspiration in the forthcoming elections
APC gubernatorial candidate in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin, called on the members to begin extensive and far reaching marketing of their candidates from the president down to members of the House of Assembly, because according to him that was exigent if the party must win the forthcoming elections.
In his welcome address, Ogun State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yemi Sanusi stated that the Campaign Council had been conscientiously composed to cater for all candidates seeking elective positions in the 2023 general elections, urging members to work together and shun any act that could cause disunity.
He admonished the candidates to roll up their sleeves and complement the efforts of the governor who he said has been working harder than he did in 2019 in to achieve a landslide victory.
Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), APC Senatorial candidate for Ogun West assured that himself and others in the senatorial district would do their utmost best to sweep the ballots for party. “I want to assure you that this time around, our party will record a landslide Victory”, he confidently declared.
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