By Oluwakemi Ishola
The Oyo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has decried the spate of uncharitable and reckless statements emanating from the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the exalted of the Executive Governor of Oyo state.
The ruling party in a statement signed by its state publicity secretary, Engr Akeem Olatunji, and made available to newsmen on Monday noted that such unbridled penchant for public attention was unhealthy for the already redefined politics without bitterness being championed by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The state PDP described the APC as a political party with sheer disrespect for the office they once held for eight wasteful years stressing that all that concerns APC in Oyo state was to be in power and not to protect the sanctity of the office through which such power is derived.
The ruling party however warned the APC to be cautious of reckless statements and deliberate move to blackmail and malign the person of Governor Seyi Makinde for always been there for his people and performing his legitimate responsibilities as a highly respected and loyal party man, stressing that the opposition should not mistake Makinde’s simplicity and benevolence for weakness.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement by Oyo state chapter of the APC over the weekend where the opposition party used some very provocative, extremely disrespectful, and uncharitable words for the person of the Executive Governor of the state, Engr Seyi Makinde, with the sole aim of maligning our governor and bringing his name to disrepute.
“The Oyo APC through its Publicity secretary, AbdulAzeez Olatunde, yet again, threw caution to the wind in the name of politics by calling the governor ‘senseless’, wouldn’t it have been polite and respectful in the spirit of playing opposition to apply decorum in their choices of words especially when addressing the governor?
“We are not unaware of their source of unrestrained effrontery and guts being party in control at the center, to disrespect, disparage, malign, and bring the hard earned reputation of governor Makinde to disrepute in the eyes of the unsuspecting members of the public.
“The Ondo state election where governor Makinde had gone to perform his duties as the Chairman of PDP campaign committee alongside his other counterparts to rally support for the PDP candidate also had no fewer than 15 APC governors present in the sunshine state to garner support for their candidate.
“For the benefit of doubt those APC governors present include Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, his Katsina State counterpart, Aminu Masari; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu; and Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
“Others present were Governor Sani Bello of Niger State; Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman of Kwara State; Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State; Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Gombe State Governor Muhammad Yahaya; and Simon Lalong of Plateau State.
“It is also a public knowledge that even while the governor was in Ondo performing his legitimate party duty, good governance in the state has continued uninterruptedly.
“We are seriously baffled by Oyo state APC unbridled penchant for public attention among other opposition parties in the state, by saying that ‘Makinde won his 2019 governorship election fraudulently, APC has just shown its lowest level of disrespect for not only the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria for upholding Makinde’s election victory, but also disrespecting both the election Tribunal and Appeal courts for validating peoples choice during the said 2019 guber election.
“We know for a fact that Oyo state APC is a specialist and particularly known for using sheer falsehood, smear campaign, blackmail, and unthinkable approach to politics but we as a political party wish to specifically warn them to desist forthwith and play their opposition role with decorum, restraint, and respect for the exalted office they once branded as ‘Constituted authority’ in all their approaches because even under the right to freedom of expression, we are all answerable for what we say.
“We urge Oyo residents and the good people of the state to continue to ignore the desperation of APC in the state, because we know that they have no respect for the choice, will, and collective sensibility of the people who freely and overwhelmingly gave Governor Makinde their mandate as their governor.”
