Television Nigerian

The primary election committees of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have asked for peace among the party’s governorship candidates.

This comes after the party’s organizing committee promised a free, fair, and credible primary election on Saturday.

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AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the chairman of the committee and the governor of Kwara State, said this at a stakeholder meeting held at the party secretariat in Osogbo on Friday evening.

At the meeting, three aspirants for the APC’s governorship candidate in the July 16 election were present.
They are the incumbent state governor, Gboyega Oyetola; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuff and a former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti.

He said the committee was fully prepared to maintain peace, urging members of the party to conduct themselves peacefully.

According to him, “We came here with peace. Our party is a peaceful party and we are going to do everything to ensure that peace is maintained throughout the entire process. Fairness, equity, justice, credibility and peace are our watchwords.

“I want you all to come out peacefully and in large numbers to vote for your preferred aspirant. What we are looking for is peace and I can assure you that we will leave no stone unturned to ensure a peaceful, free and fair exercise.

The Secretary of the primary committee, Senator Julius Ucha said direct primary election was preferred by the party.

He announced that accreditation will commence by 8am while voting will start after the accreditation of the last person on the line.

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Meanwhile, there is the presence of heavy security in Osogbo, the state capital of Osun.

Security operatives comprised of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, the Nigerian Correctional Service, Amotekun were present to provide security during the meeting.

Barr. Kenneth Imasuagbon, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has stated that Nigeria’s president should be chosen based on merit, intellectual capability, and exposure for the country’s overall development, rather than through zoning.

He also stated that those who base their arguments on zoning do not love the country, implying that Nigerians should begin to consider a presidential candidate capable of resolving the country’s numerous problems.

In a statement, he stated that Nigeria is in an emergency situation that necessitates an immediate solution in order to restore sanity to the country.

According to him, the best option for the PDP was to jettison zoning and ensure a candidate that is acceptable to Nigerians emerges as the party’s presidential candidate.

“The state of the country is chaotic and troubling. We should not be contemplating zoning now. We should be thinking of who can do the job for the Almajiri in the streets, the farmers, secure the nation and help the economy to grow,” he said.

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He stated that Nigerians are looking for a person who can fix the roads, make schools work, and give value to Nigerians.

He added that Nigerians are looking at that Nigerian that would come after President Muhammadu Buhari that will be courageous enough to call a spade by its name, heal the pains of the country and bring the country together.

A well-traveled Nigerian, he stressed, that would not feel inferior in Washington, a Nigerian that has done well in the private sector and served in government and knows what to do from day one.

He emphasized, “Those calling for zoning do not love Nigeria. Merit, intellectual capability and exposure are attributes that should determine who becomes the next president.”

Imasuagbon further stated that he feels troubled when people talk about zoning because according to him, “Nigeria is in emergency times and it demands emergency solutions, look at the hospitals, one almost died of malaria because the drugs one gets were fake.”

He said that if Nigeria is talking about zoning, it is not the turn of the south if it is PDP, the ticket should go to the north, saying that Jonathan did six years, Obasanjo did eight years, Yar’Adua did two years and Buhari is completing eight years as it is not time for testing the waters.

He explained that with a northern presidential candidate, the party can secure victory and rescue the country, stressing that fairness and equity demand that if the south has done 14 out of 16, the north should be the next in line for the presidency.

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According to him, “the country is sitting on the precipice of strategic issues like job creation, security and the economy. We need somebody who has been tried and tested.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been urged by the National Grassroots Youth Coalition for Good Governance and some European donor agencies to ensure the establishment of credible electoral processes that will result in the election of working committee members with integrity and credibility.

After a one-day Roundtable and Media Parley, civil society members and donor agencies issued a communique assessing the current political situation in Nigeria, stating that only credible, integrity-based electoral processes can sustain the current democratic processes.
According to the communique released after their meeting, the CSO and donor agencies said, “the current unstable political situation in the country demands urgent attention from all stakeholders, particularly the youths.

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“That contemporary reality shows that increasing the number of youth participating in politics is highly desired and indeed, urgent especially because they are the Change Agent that will transform the country.

“That Political Parties should be wary of promoting political leaders who had an anti-people track record as Party functionaries, noting that a member of the House of Representatives who sponsored an Anti-NGO & anti-human rights bill should not be allowed to lead any political party in any democracy.

“Participants also observed and commended the decision of the leading opposition party, the PDP, to elect a youth as the Youth Leader of the Party.
Participants, therefore, resolved as follows:

“That political leadership with the involvement of youths in governance is critical to political stability and the survival of our democracy, especially at party levels.

“That party leadership requires integrity and credible individuals, with modern technology to pilot their affairs in modern day democracy.

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“Consequently, young people with digital skill and 21st Century exposure should be encouraged to take leadership positions as part of a larger attempt to deepen democratic culture in the Country.

“Participants unanimously endorsed and supported the aspiration of Mal. Saliu Mustapha as National Chairman of the APC and Mr. Peter Omaranyiole Oputu as National Youth Leader to emulate the gesture of the opposition party that elected Muhammadu Suleiman Kadade as PDP National Youth Leader few months ago.

“Nigerian youth will support only political parties that directly appeal to them through the election of one of them as National Chairman”.

The groups also appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent directives to the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of government to henceforth give youths more opportunities to serve in the Public Sector.

The meeting was attended by Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, youth associations, clubs, women groups, media and political forum numbering over seventy (70) from all the 36 States of the Federation.

Also participants at the seminar interfaced with the Director-General of Institute for Governance and Leadership Studies in Africa (IGLSA), Abuja and Executive Director of Initiative for Community Development, Kano.