Ondo: Why we’re working for SDP candidate Akingboye, APC groups write Ganduje

Some political groups of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the platform of Ondo Patriots (OP) have officially written a letter to the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, informing the party on a decision to work against Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the forthcoming governorship election.

The groups, however declared its intention to support the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Otunba Benson Akingboye.

In a copy of the acknowledged letter made available to newsmen Saturday in Abuja, the groups said it has begun massive mobilisation for the candidate of the SDP already.

The letter read signed by the coordinator of the aggrieved group, Comrade Dele Oyewo, said Otunba Benson Akingboye of SDP is more or less an APC family “whose track and philosophy are similar to that of our dear President Bola Tinubu. He had on various platforms recognized His excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an epitome of modern politics that Nigeria can have.”

Given reasons for their decision the letter reads in part: “Following the background that our dear party leadership in Abuja has taken to be on the side of gov. Aiyedatiwa’s questionable emergence at the shallow primaries conducted in April 2024, the leadership of the various organizing groups within the party structure in the state for the umpteen time hereby re-emphasize that it is going to be almost impossible to work with the party and the governor on Nov. 16th gubernatorial election.

“This is not unconnected with the facts that youth’s kind gesture and loyalty have severally been taking for granted not only in Ondo state but in the country at large.

“In the spiritual realm, the primitive and dangerous atmosphere of the do or die primary conducted by Governor Ododo of Kogi state on the instruction of Aiyedatiwa is not only inimical but detrimental to the fortune of the good people of our state, according to the natural laws guiding existence. But we discovered that the party leadership in Abuja is not in any way concerned about the wellbeing of citizens of Ondo state, rather they prefer their own choice of settlement over any form of resulting consequences.

“The voices of people in Ondo state-an appendages of the APC hereby condemn what it described as derailment and gross misconduct against the party ethics in line with choice of Gov. Aiyedatiwa if truly we are different from PDP and that we do to the latter what we preached before 2015 general elections.”

On the reasons why they settled for the SDP candidate, the group said: “Having gone through credentials, of all the major contenders for the forthcoming governorship election in our dear state, we the major APC groups in Ondo state have decided to pick Otunba Benson Akingboye of Social Democratic party as our choice.

“However silent mobilization has been ongoing but we decided this time, to inform our party because of myriad of ‘I don care’ attitude that the APC leadership in Abuja have been displaying to matters like this that concerns the youth of Ondo state long before. We cannot continue to die in silence and showcase total loyalty to the destiny wasters in our state.

“If truly the party leadership is concerned about the great future of our dear party and the good people of Ondo state, it will see this write-up as a clarion call rather than attack on the party.

“We are monitoring all the activities very closely from all quarters. We pray that in a bid to favor gov. Aiyedatiwa, some people will not set Ondo state on Fire. Meanwhile what would eventually remove gov. Aiyedatiwa from office is already cooking even when he is forcefully declared as the winner of the election. We have told our people not to waste their precious votes!”