The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) recently held a meeting with aggrieved governorship aspirants in an effort to foster unity ahead of the November 21 off-cycle election.
The primary election, which took place last weekend and was overseen by Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, declared Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner with 48,569 votes in the direct primary exercise, surpassing the other 15 aspirants.
However, some of the aspirants expressed dissatisfaction with the election outcome, citing irregularities. These aspirants include Olugbenga Edema, Omoba Jimmy Odimayo, and Adewale Akinterinwa.
During the peace meeting held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the APC, appealed to the aggrieved aspirants, acknowledging the emotional distress caused by the primary election and emphasizing the importance of unity and dialogue moving forward.
We have a vested interest in this local government election, despite being outsiders. This state and this party belong to you, and we understand that you hope for our party to be the ruling party in Ondo state.
Our goal aligns with yours, as we want our party to continue its ruling status in this state. We are here to appeal to you, as fellow practitioners in this political game, to help us maintain the APC state in Ondo.
I personally understand the challenges of running for governorship, as I myself lost in 1999 and had to wait patiently for 16 years before becoming a governor. So I cannot label you as lost aspirants, but rather as aspirants who will find success in the future.
