The Ondo State Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders, particularly, the 15 aspirants of the All Progressives Congress in the state, who contested the party ticket with him during the just concluded governorship primary of the party.
The PUNCH reports that Governor Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner of the primary that came up last Saturday across the 18 local government areas of the state, having scored a total of 48,460 votes to defeat all other contestants.
The results of the election were delivered by the chairman of the primary election committee and Governor of Kogi State, Mr Usman Ododo.
In his acceptance speech delivered on Monday, shortly after the announcement of his victory, the governor called on his co-contestants to support him in winning the main governorship election coming up on November 16.
Aiyedatiwa said, “Let me at this time acknowledge and thank all the aspirants who threw their hats into the ring in the family contest to be the flag-bearer. Your participation has created so much awareness within and outside our party. You mobilised our members and removed apathy. You have also brought in numerous new members to the party. All of these have enriched our democracy and strengthened our party in the state.
“To all our party members, I hereby accept, wholeheartedly, the responsibility conferred on me as the candidate of our party by the votes of our members who turned out in large numbers on April 20, 2024.
“Now, more than ever before, the greatness of Ondo State is what matters the most. I therefore request that we all join hands together in building the future that we all yearn for in Ondo state. There is infrastructure to be built; better healthcare services to be delivered; fair justice to be served; qualitative education to be ensured; civil servants to be trained and motivated; security of lives and properties to be strengthened; enabling environment to be created for businesses to thrive and attract investors.”
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from the state, Mr Abiola Makinde, has commended the conduct of Saturday’s primary, saying the Governor Ododo-led committee did a good job.
Makinde, who represented Ondo East/Ondo West Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, said through his media aide, Mr Alli Moshood, that it was high time the party began the reconciliation process and united the party members ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in November.
The federal lawmaker said, “I congratulate His Excellency, Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa, Ondo State Governor, as he becomes the flagbearer of our great party, APC, to contest to be our governor one more time in our sunshine state.
“Your Excellency, your commitment to true democracy and the genuine love for the party and members has been reflected yet again with a successful primary election. As we prepare for the main election on November 16th, it is time to reconcile all aggrieved party members so we can collectively deliver yet again, another great victory for the APC. “