A lawyer, Bola Aidi, has been nominated as the Unity Party of Nigeria’s (UPN) candidate to contest the November 26 governorship election.
He received a wide acclamation of delegates at the party’s congress in Akure at the weekend.
The party’s National Vice Chairman (Southsouth), Prince Abbi, who was chairman of the Ondo State Congress, handed Aidi the party’s flag.
The party’s national officers, the representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr. Patrick Akinsule, the Southwest Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) witnessed the congress.
Also in attendance were UPN national officers, including National Vice Chairman (Northeast) Alhaji Sani Zayyanu.
In his acceptance speech, Aidi thanked the delegates for believing in him to deliver and promised not to let them down.
He described his candidacy as symbolic because “it is the beginning of the liberation struggle that many good things will start happening in Ondo State”.
He added: “I declare before you all that my nomination today marks the beginning of the rebirth of the golden era in our Sunshine State; enough of poverty and enough of political vagabonds in power. UPN will return Ondo State to her place of glory as our people will by the grace of God experience excellent governance.
“We will not shortchange our people, everybody will benefit equally in the sharing of the democratic dividends and we will not waste the common wealth of our state, but we will judiciously manage the meagre resources to develop our state.”