The All Progressives Congress (APC) has constituted a 63-member Campaign Councilfor the Osun State governorship election billed for September 22.
It is made up of 14 governors, eight ministers, 41 members of the National Assembly and seasoned politicians, including former Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.
The governors in the council are: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano) who chairs council, Abdulazeez Abubakar Yari (Zamfara), deputy chairman, Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Olwarotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa) and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).
The campaign council has eight serving ministers as members. They are: Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (Interior), Manir Dan-Ali (Defence), Adebayo Shittu (Communications), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu (Petroleum) Babatunde Fashola (Power, Works & Housing) Rotimi Amaechi (Transport), Lai Mohammed (Information) and Prof. Isaac Adewole (Health).
The deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, will lead members of the National Working Committee in the council and Akpabio (former Senate Minority Leader) will lead National Assembly members to victory for the APC at the poll.
Addressing the campaign council, National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, said the task is to ensure that the APC retain the governorship seat in Osun State by working with party leaders in the state and mobilising the people to vote massively the APC candidate.
Oshiomhole said: “Many of you present here have been very much involved in helping to provide leadership in most of the campaigns that we have had in recent times after the last general elections.
“The most recent one is that of Ekiti State where your excellencies did very well and some of the governors who were much involved in that exercise are not here but some of you here were very much involved in it.
“So, we have a body of experience to go about and the whole idea is to sustain the values and the ideals of our party, which is based on transparent elections on the basis of one man, one vote and joining forces with the party leadership in the state, to work hard, to mobilise people of Osun State to vote wisely for the APC candidate in the next governorship election that is scheduled to take place by the special of God on 22nd September, 2018.
“The importance of any election doesn’t require much elaboration. As a governing party, Nigerians resolve in our favour that the APC should not only preside at the centre. They have expressed so much trust and confidence in our party, that on our party’s platform, 24 governors were elected even though the Supreme Court judgment had said it is parties that win election, not an individual.
“However, some governors were happy with their people having voted for us in Sokoto, in Kwara and in Benue. We are happy that more progressives are coming. So, the importance of Osun is readily appreciated by all of us. First, it is a state we had taken over from the PDP, we defeated the sitting governor at that time and happily that sitting governor joined us.”
Responding on behalf of the members, Ganduje assured that the party will retain the governorship seat in Osun through a free fair and credible election.
He said: “Our chairman, on behalf of these powerful council, I will like to thank you very much for having confidence in us. There is no doubt that this is a very powerful council looking at the composition of the membership, governors, senators and experienced partymen. Also the task ahead of us is very impotant. So, I think Mr. Chairman, what you have done is to match the quality of the council with the importance of the assignment.
“There is no doubt that winning Osun State is very vital to the party and the government because it is a state we shall retain. It has been our state in the APC for the last eight years and by the will of God, we will maintain this state in order to have a 100 per cent states of the Southwestern part of this country in our great party.
“As progressives, Mr. chairman, we assure you we will ensure clean, free and fair election because that is the motive of the APC. Free of violence.
“What we intend to do is to mobilise our people. We are even very lucky that the primaries conducted succeeded in mobilising the people, in energising the people, in giving our members hope in Osun State so that we continue with that mobilisation until the election day when certainly we will win this election.
“The governor of Osun is a man of the people, he provided the dividend of Democracy. He is the man who relates with all the strata of the society in Osun. So, he is a man that is loved by the people.
“So, all that is required now is for us to sit together to ensure there is total reconciliation among those who contested for the primaries. This is very important to give a sense of belonging so that everyone will participate in the electioneering and in the election and also mobilise all the stakeholders to ensure we work in unity.
“We assure you, our party will work very hard to win this election following the rules of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the constitution of the country.”