Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State has called on the general public to pray for the immediate past governor and Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, saying he obviously suffers “political amnesia and out-of-office loneliness.”

The APC, in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Saturday by its Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, faulted the comment reportedly credited to Amosun that the incumbent governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, did not win the 2019 governorship election.

The party described the ex-governor’s claim as “an after-lunch belching of a man suffering from political amnesia and loneliness.”

The statement reads: “The attention of our party has been drawn to a statement reportedly credited to the immediate past governor of Ogun State and the Chief Promoter of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

“The quoted statement was not only an insult to the psyche of the people of Ogun State, but also a sad indication that the former governor is yet to purge himself of extreme arrogance and intolerance that were his trademarks, which earned him suspension from our party, even as a sitting governor.

“The APC, therefore, calls on the general public, and particularly our esteemed members, to pity and pray for the former governor as he obviously suffers from political amnesia, loneliness and absolute lack of touch with reality.

“There is absolute no truth in the specious utterance of the former governor who is obviously still sulking from the electoral defeat of his surrogate party in 2019. Our party and candidate not only won fair and square, the victory of Prince Dapo Abiodun was also attested to by his co-contestants, many of whom later joined APC and are still in APC.

“Never in the history of governorship elections in Ogun State have candidates of other parties so instantaneously congratulated and visited the Governor-elect, as it happened in the case of Governor Dapo Abiodun, whose Iperu country home hosted candidates and leaders of other parties, including late Prince Buruji Kashamu, Otunba Rotimi Paseda, Mr. Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka (GNI), and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, among others.

“It is on record that many of the then opposition figures like former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmat Badru, the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Rueben Abati, GNI and others served in the Economic Transition Committee chaired by Mr. Tunde Lemo, which was set up by Prince Dapo Abiodun immediately after the elections.

“As provided for in a democracy, the candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement challenged the results of the election at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abeokuta and lost.

“His ramshackle petition was dismissed. While confirming the victory of Governor Abiodun at the Saturday, March 9, 2019 election, the tribunal led by Justice Yusuf Halilu, in its judgment, stated that: “This petition does not only fail, it is destined to fail, it fails and hereby dismissed.”

“Not satisfied, the APM and its candidate went on appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan and later at the Supreme Court where they also lost. It is remarkable that in all the petition and court cases, the judgements were unanimously passed without any dissenting voice from the Tribunal members and the judges at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

“If the APM was as popular as the former Governor wants us to believe, he would have contested his senatorial election on the platform of the APM and not on the platform of the APC.

“We recollect vividly that it took the support of Prince Dapo Abiodun and the open appeal of our father and leader, Chief Olusegun Osoba, who pleaded during his visits to all the wards in Ogun Central Senatorial District that our members should consider the interest of the party by voting for Amosun.

“Having been witnessing the frustrating exodus of his former political allies who openly said they were tired of endemic lies; and his failure to wrest the party structures from the incumbent governor, the recourse by Senator Amosun to “elated” after-lunch belching is understandable and pitiable.

“Furthermore, Amosun is still pained that despite the violence wrecked on our members, despite unfinished projects whose costs were mostly paid 100 percent upfront, despite the handover without a handover note, despite the wanton destruction of public facilities including pipe-borne water taps in Abeokuta, and notwithstanding the untoward provocations and shenanigans; Governor Abiodun remained focused and determined to leave Ogun State much better than he met it.

“While commending Gov. Dapo Abiodun for his giant strides since assumption of office, we urge him to remain focused continuous delivery of the dividends of democracy for which Ogun people elected him; and not to join issues with sore losers”, the party concluded.