Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has urged leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress in the state to close ranks and mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu and other party candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Aiyedatiwa made the call on Monday while addressing members of the APC Elders Council at a meeting held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Akure, where he unveiled the party’s mobilisation strategy for the elections.
The governor declared that the APC had only one structure in Ondo State, warning members against actions capable of creating factions and weakening the party ahead of the elections.
“APC is one. There are no two APCs in Ondo State. APC is one, All Progressives Congress,” Aiyedatiwa said.
He said those seeking to establish a parallel Elders Council should be engaged and brought back into the party’s fold, stressing that no member should be excluded from the APC family.
“We don’t want to leave anybody out. Even those who are trying to create another faction, we are talking to them that APC must remain one,” he added.
Aiyedatiwa directed the activation of the Elders Council across the 18 local government areas, saying such a structure would strengthen grassroots mobilisation and provide elders with greater opportunities to contribute to the party’s activities.
He also called on party members to support APC candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly, noting that the party’s campaign must cover all 18 local government areas, 203 wards and 3,933 polling units in the state.
The governor said the progress of Ondo State and the success of his administration required collective efforts, stressing that he needed the backing of elders, women, youths and other stakeholders.
“I need the support of everyone: the elders, the women, the youth, everyone,” he said, while urging party members to participate actively in governance and offer constructive advice instead of promoting division.
Aiyedatiwa also solicited the support of APC members for President Tinubu, saying party unity and votes remained the most effective means of backing the President in the 2027 presidential election.
He commended Tinubu’s administration for reforms which, according to him, had increased the financial resources available to state governments to execute development projects. He described the President as courageous and bold in taking difficult decisions.
Highlighting his administration’s performance, the governor said more than 6,000 people had been employed by the state government since he assumed office, including teachers, health workers, agricultural personnel and primary healthcare workers.
He disclosed that some ad-hoc health workers had been absorbed into the state’s permanent workforce, while about 500 additional personnel had been recruited into the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun.
On infrastructure, Aiyedatiwa said road projects were ongoing across the 18 local government areas, alongside urban renewal schemes and the Akure flyover project.
He also listed ongoing investments in the health sector, including a 250-bed hospital in Ondo town and 100-bed facilities in Okitipupa, Ikare and Irele. According to him, contractors had been mobilised to the various sites.
The governor further disclosed that medical equipment had been procured for several hospitals, particularly the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo, which, he said, had received MRI and CT scan machines. He noted that the state had not previously purchased an MRI machine since its creation.
In his remarks, the APC state chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, said the experience of party elders remained indispensable to the growth and stability of the organisation.
Babatunde noted that the current State Working Committee was relatively young compared with the older generation that had built the political structure from the Alliance for Democracy through the Action Congress and eventually to the APC.
He said the APC constitution recognised the Elders Council as an important component of the party, with responsibilities including advising the leadership, promoting stability, initiating policies, regulating proceedings and developing a code of conduct.
According to him, the elders’ experience would help the party consolidate its achievements and strengthen its chances ahead of the 2027 elections. He added that the Aiyedatiwa administration’s projects in infrastructure, healthcare, security and water supply would provide the APC with strong campaign issues.
Earlier, the Chairman of the APC Elders Council, Senator Nimbe Farukanmi, urged party members to put aside their differences and work together for the success of Aiyedatiwa and Tinubu.
Farukanmi described the gathering as an important platform for APC leaders from the three senatorial districts to reconnect and discuss the development of the state and the future of the party.
He described Aiyedatiwa as an open-minded leader who had reached out to him on issues concerning cooperation among party leaders, urging members to reciprocate such gestures and avoid unnecessary disagreements.
Other elders, including Senator Tayo Alasoadura, Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, Pastor Segun Ayerin and Mrs Jumoke Anifowose-Ajasin, commended the governor and the state party chairman for convening the meeting.
They identified areas requiring attention within the party and called on APC members to mobilise support for all the party’s candidates to secure victory in the 2027 general elections.
Those at the meeting included the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami; former Deputy Governors, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, Otunba Omolade Oluwateru and Alhaji Abdulazeez Oluboyo; Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council, Chief Pius Akinyelure; Vice Chairman of the APC Elders Council, Alhaji Jamiu Ekungba; Executive Director of Corporate Services, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde; and Chief Olusola Oke, among others.
0 Comments