President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the people of Kogi state to align with the ruling party in the centre for continuity and consolidation.
The president, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, disclosed this during the official flag off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign rally in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Sunday.
He said Kogi being one of the frontier stations in the north cannot afford to have a governor that will be hostile to the centre.
He said the appointment of the son of the soil as Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shaibu Abubakar Audu, was part of the move of the presidency to complete the Iron and Steel Company at Ajaokuta which is at 98 percent stage of completion, with 500, 000 job capacity.
Shettima expressed the optimism that the APC would win the November 11 governorship election resoundingly, assuring the people of Kogi that they were about to vote in a man with the intellectual capacity to consolidate on the many achievements of his boss, Governor Yahaya Bello.
He said the President had just approved funds for the construction of Ganaja Road, adding that the Abuja – Lokoja – Okene Road and Kabba – Ilorin Road would also receive the Federal Government’s attention very soon.
He said, “For us to build on the legacy and for the purpose of continuity and consolidation, it becomes imperative for the people of Kogi State to align themselves with the power at the centre.
“President Tinubu is a man of courage and conviction, he is a man pregnant with ideas on how to reposition the nation, but Kogi, which is one of the frontiers of the North, Kogi, the Confluence State, cannot afford to have a state government that does not belong to the power at the centre.
“For the people of Kogi State to benefit immensely from the eight-point agenda of Pesident Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the people of Kogi State to benefit from the natural resources, it is absolutely essential that we should vote for a much more patriotic person who is grounded with the reality in Kogi State.
“The Ajaokuta steel company will help the Federal Government to fulfill the eight-point agenda of President Tinubu’s administration with respect to job creation, huge investment and revenue generation.
“Ajaokuta steel company has the potential to generate over 500,000 jobs once Ajaokuta is designated as an industrial zone.
“The youth want jobs, better education and good life. You are better off if you follow the man who knows road, therefore give your votes to APC, give your votes to Usman Ahmed Ododo. This is a young man who can deliver the desired dividend of democracy to you.”
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who is the Chairman of the APC National Campaign Council for Kogi Governorship Election, insisted that APC was the only party in the State and urged the people not to make the mistake of not consolidating on visible gains, ensuring the continuity of good governance and aligning with the party in the centre.
He said, “I urge you to vote for consolidation by voting for the APC Governorship Candidate to enable him build on security, infrastructure, education and several other visible achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello.
“The APC will sustain the trajectory of development in Kogi State. Don’t vote for strangers. Get your PVC and vote for the APC. In Kogi State, we have only one party and that is the APC,” he said.
The defectors were from the People’s Democratic Party, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party, Accord Party and the African Democratic Congress, among others.
The Campaign Council Chairman maintained that, with the massive defection into the APC from the opposition political parties, it was clear that Ododo would emerge victorious.
The National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, called for the unity of APC members in the coming Governorship election and urged the people of the state to shun ethnicity, stressing that what everyone should look forward to is the victory party for the APC.
“Without mincing words. The only party in Kogi is the APC. We have all it takes to mobilise massively for the APC Governorship Candidate. I’m looking forward to a victory party because we parade the best candidate who has uniting the people as his priority. Let’s shun tribalism and ethnicity,” Ganduje stated.
Governor Yahaya Bello thanked God that he had been able to place the State on the path of sustained development.
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