A youth group, The United Progressives (TUP), has solicited the support of Oyo state citizens for Senator Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming March 11 governorship election in the state.
The group stated this in Ibadan, the state capital, while briefing journalists on Monday, asserting that Folarin remains the most experienced, the most competent, and the most qualified candidate among his co-contestants.
Speaking on behalf of the TUP, the convener and former deputy APC youth leader, Bolaji Repete, asserted that Senator Folarin would make education vibrant again in Oyo state by re-introducing School Governing Boards, which was the initiative of the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi but was cancelled by Governor Seyi Makinde, accounting for the poor performance of Oyo state secondary school students in the last West Africa School Certificate Examination (WASCE).
He thanked all the party leaders, members and gladiators who worked tirelessly and ensured the party’s victory during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, appealing to the aggrieved members of the party to bury their hatchets and work for the success of the party in the March 11 elections.
Repete congratulated the president-elect, the vice president-elect and members of the National Assembly in the party on their victory and warned the ruling party in the state, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and their supporters to desist from making false claims about facilitating the victory of the president-elect.
“Those behind the wicked rumour are some unscrupulous elements whose motive is to mislead the public and attract undue sympathy from certain quarters outside the state come 11 March, 2023.
“To set the record straight, Oyo PDP did its best to secure victory for all its candidates at the February 25th election but they failed simply because Oyo APC was far ahead of them in terms of preparedness, human resources, strategy and public acceptability,” Repete asserted.
He further called on the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies to be on alert, saying threats and violence cause voter apathy and affect the legitimacy of elections and electoral participation worldwide.
“On no account should dissidents and agents of darkness be allowed to disrupt the gubernatorial polls of March 11, 2023.
“All citizens of Oyo state must be allowed to freely exercise their franchise without hindrance or any form of intimidation,” he urged.
He expressed great confidence in the APC’s victory in the governorship election, disclosing that some of the progressives, who have the political strength but were in other parties, were already returning to the APC and, therefore, called on others to do same, as no one among them would like to have Seyi Makinde, who is seeking a re-election, as governor again in Oyo state.
Edited by Amaka E. Nliam
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