Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state have described the endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as “inconsequential and meaningless” in view of the acceptability of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu across Nigeria.
Recall that the former president, Obasanjo had in an open letter to young Nigerians on Sunday endorsed the candidacy of Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 General Elections.
But while speaking on Monday in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo state at a rally he organised for the APC presidential candidate, Segun Abraham said though they respect Chief Obasanjo as a Yoruba man, he has failed Nigerians as far as electoral value is concerned in Nigeria.
Abraham, who also led other leaders of the party and members to the palace of Olukare of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Akadri Momoh, for royal blessing said “when it comes to electoral value, voting, Obasanjo has failed Nigerians woefully. Obasanjo even lost in his own unit in 1999. We don’t respect him when it comes to electoral value. He is not the one that will tell us who to vote for in the coming general election. I know that people will not even vote for Obi in his own house or unit.”
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The APC chairman in Ondo state, Engr. Ade Adetimehin, who also spoke at the rally said “we ask for votes for Tinubu because of his credibility, capacity, capability and action for the development of Nigeria.
“The chances of Tinubu in Yoruba land is paramount, he has no rival, and he is our leader in Yoruba land. He has credibility and he believes so much in Yoruba, he has never failed any election in Yoruba land. You could recollect that he was the governor of Lagos state for 8 years and he did well. He knows how to win an election, he knows how to do politicking.
“In 1999, Obasanjo contested election and he lost at his own polling unit, state and the same thing happened when he recontested before he rigged the election. So this time around, the Yoruba people are wiser, we know who can lead us, protect and direct us.
“You can take the records, Tinubu cut across all the ethnics barrier. He is a man that everybody loves. Baba Fasoranti has pedigree compared to Obasanjo. Fasoranti has never lost credibility like Baba Obasanjo.
“Obasanjo is not the one leading us in Yoruba land, Baba Fasoranti is the one leading Afenifere. So Baba Obasanjo cannot speak for us in Yoruba land.”
While the former Speaker of the Ondo state House of Assembly, Hon. Taofeeq Salam said “the reason why we are supporting Tinubu is that as far as Nigeria is concerned is the most qualified, who has no antecedent, he has been a senator, governor and layer down a master plan for Lagos state and up till now the master plan has not been changed.
“He has built talented people across the state and if we have somebody like that I think Nigerians need to support him. When we compare him with other candidates, he is the best and we believe that he can do better.
“Well, I am a Yoruba man, and Yoruba in the Southwest know Obasanjo, he never likes someone that will outdo him, he doesn’t like talented people and he will never support people with talent. He despised Chief Awolowo, Abiola and others. We know that Obasanjo can never support Tinubu, he doesn’t want anybody from Yoruba land to become president and we are not surprised about that.”
