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ABEOKUTA—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential
campaign rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State descended into chaos,
yesterday, after simmering issues from the party’s governorship
primaries boiled over at the rally ground. President Muhammadu
Buhari was surrounded by protective bodyguards as angry party
members reportedly aligned to Governor Ibikunle Amosun pelted the
National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as he
introduced the party’s governorship candidate, Prince Dapo
Abiodun.
The confusion at the rally was compounded after President Buhari
deviated from the tradition of supporting APC candidates across
board as he told supporters to vote for the governorship candidate
of their choice. The rancour at the rally ground was further
exacerbated when the immediate past governor of Osun State, Ogbeni
Rauf Aregbesola flayed Governor Amosun as a hypocrite for
reportedly turning his back on his party’s candidate. Meanwhile, a
former governor of the state, Aremo Segun Osoba, who was present at
the occasion, yesterday, lamented the developments as he said he
had made apologies to the president and Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo over the issue. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
however, said that the developments in Abeokuta showed that the
people of Ogun State had aligned themselves with the rest of the
country in rejecting President Buhari’s second term aspiration.
The stage for yesterday’s commotion had been set by the
defection of Amosun’s preferred successor, Adekunle Akinlade to the
Allied Peoples Movement, APM following the decision of the
Oshiomhole led National Working Committee, NWC to hand over the
governorship ticket to Prince Abiodun. APM supporters pelt
Oshiomhole However, in front of the president, Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo who is from the state, national leader of the party,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of the state, Aremo Segun
Osoba among others, several APM supporters who had come to show
support for Buhari, however, cringed and sometimes responded by
pelting Oshiomhole and Abiodun with stones when opportunity
presented itself. Amosun in his speech had appealed to his
aggrieved loyalists not to transfer their anger to the party in the
presidential election as he said that the issues would be resolved
at the governorship election. “We are respecting President
Muhammadu Buhari, don’t transfer your anger to APC. I have
told you that you will all be one by March 3rd and you will come
back to APC.
How Adeboye prayed for Osinbajo’s protection before
crash-landing “You know what to do when it is March 2nd, but please
honour me on February 16 and vote for our father, President
Muhammadu Buhari.” His assertion was immediately rebuffed by the
immediate past governor of Osun State, Aregbesola who described
Governor Amosun as a hypocrite over his support for the candidate
of another party. You’re a hypocrite, Aregbesola hits Amosun
Aregbesola who spoke immediately after Amosun said the party could
not be happy with hypocrites in the party. He then urged those
present to ignore Amosun and vote for APC in the presidential,
governorship and all other positions.
“We are not happy with hypocrites among us. We are APC,
but many people are hypocrites here. We must ensure we vote for APC
in March and February”. Following that as Oshiomhole moved to
introduce Abiodun as the party’s governorship candidate the crowd
burst out with shouts of “Ole! Ole! Ole!” and also pelted the
party’s national chairman with stones. Oshiomhole was forced by the
development to abort his speech abruptly. Security aides form ring
around President The chaos caused the president’s bodyguards to
immediately take position and form a ring around the president.
Upon the development and as the Master of Ceremony, Abike Dabiri
announced Vice President Osinbajo to come and make his speech,
Amosun stepped forward to appeal to the party supporters. Speaking
passionately in Yoruba he appealed to the crowd not to humiliate
him in the presence of Buhari who he repeatedly addressed as “our
father.” “I beg you in the name of God, this is what they want to
happen… Please don’t disgrace me here.” “Our father is here, please
don’t disgrace me.
I beg you in the name of God; please don’t disgrace me before
our father… We have laboured this hard. I am appealing to you.
Please, leave. I beg you in the name of God; please leave. I beg
you. I am begging,” he added. Vote for me on Saturday, vote for
candidates of your choice on March 2, Buhari tells Ogun people.
President Buhari, on his part, urged the people of the state to
vote for him in the presidential election and also vote for
candidates of their choice in the coming governorship election in
Ogun State.
Buhari maintained that it is the right of the people to vote for
candidates of their choice, adding that he has no problem with
whatever decision they took in the governorship election.
Presidential Polls: Nigeria’ll not return to PDP-Emerhor, Samani,
Dakuku The president stressed that his administration is committed
to developing the infrastructure, railway and power sector before
the end of his second term.
His words, “I am here specifically to thank you for coming out
in your numbers despite the weather to see and listen to us, “I
will like to remind you in 2015 our party; the All Progressives
Congress made different promises and undertook security, economy
and fighting corruption. “Wherever I go, I try to update Nigerians
on our performances for the past three and a half years. The people
of Northeast Nigeria were mostly affected by insecurity. “When we
talk about infrastructure, we are building roads, rails, and power;
you will be the witnesses by the time we complete the next four
years. “I advise you to practice your civic right come next
Saturday, and on the 2nd of March to choose whoever you like across
the parties.
“This is your right, so there is no problem about it, I have no
problem about it, and you shouldn’t have problems about it.” There
was tension around the rally ground as aggrieved supporters of the
APM reportedly chased out the supporters to the APC governorship
candidate, who were putting on yellow and other materials with
logos and inscriptions of Abiodun from the venue. Osoba apologises
Reacting yesterday, former governor of Ogun State, Chief Osoba said
the people of the state were humiliated by the chaos and that
besides making personal apologies on behalf of the people to the
president and the vice-president that delegations would be sent to
others who were humiliated. “I met with the President and Vice
President after the incident and apologized to them after the
rally. I feel disgraced and the humiliation is the humiliation of
all of us in Ogun State. I feel totally humiliated and disgraced. I
find it most unfortunate.
“The APC in Ogun is sending a high powered delegation to
apologise to the National Chairman of the APC and South West
leaders like Tinubu, Akande and others, who were also humiliated.
We are sending a powerful delegation to apologise to them.” It’s
sign of Buhari’s failure — PDP Meanwhile, the PDP, last night
described the developments in Abeokuta as a direct response from
Nigerians to what it described as the poor stewardship of the
president in the past three and a half years. In a statement signed
by the party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said the
development showed that like other states in the country, Ogun is
ready to reject the APC-led administration at the polls. Ogun
Waterside monarchs pledge support to Kashamu “The people of Ogun
State, and indeed, the South West, have shown that they are in
direct alignment with other states and geo-political zones of our
country in rejecting President Buhari and Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, whose administration has foisted so much injustice and
brought unprecedented pain and anguish to Nigerians.
“Mr. President can now see that Nigerians cannot be bought with
N10,000, as he was made to believe by Prof. Osinbajo and members of
the cabal in his Presidency. “After the unpalatable encounters in
all his rallies, Mr. President needs no further signal to show him
that the people have completely rejected him, despite his false
performance indices. Nigerians are determined to deal him a
crushing defeat on February 16 by voting en masse for the people’s
candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as the next President of our country,”
the statement read in part. The party further called on the
President and the ruling party to brace up for defeat at the polls
in a few days. Related
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