8 hours ago
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National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje on Wednesday dismissed allegations by some partisans that the outcome of last Saturday’s Governorship Election in Ondo state which returned the party’s candidate and incumbent, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was influenced by President Bola Tinubu.
Ganduje made the clarification in his remarks when the governor-elect, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his deputy paid a courtesy visit to the National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ganduje also challenged the governor-elect to focus on delivering the dividends of democracy as promised during his campaign.
The former governor of Kano State said: “There is no subterranean support from any quarters. No external influence from the government, the presidency, or any other external forces. The election is not the effort of the elites alone. It is not the effort of the middle class alone; it is also the effort of the grassroots.
“This must be an issue that was embraced by all. You enjoyed the support of the electorate in the state. We have to congratulate you on this landslide victory. I know Ondo people are progressives, which is why they will cooperate with you,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Aiyedatiwa lauded the leadership of the party for providing the platform for him and his deputy to run on a joint ticket.
He said: “We have made this promise, just as I said at that time, the kind of massive votes that the people gave to us have placed a burden on us to be able to do more than what we have been able to do in the last 10 months.
“This will make our party proud, so that after we might have served a number of years the constitution will allow for us to serve the people, APC will take over from us again. And that is what we will ensure, so that the name of our party, the title of our party, is intact. By the things we do, the good governance that we give to the people will reflect in the land and the lives of the people.
“That shows that your party, our party, my party, is well-loved in Ondo State. We have been saying this all along, that Ondo State is a progressive state. Whenever the progressives govern the state, the state is always at peace. And that is exactly what the people of the state showed in the whole war,” he said.
