The Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun yesterday rejected the new status being accorded him within political circles since the recent gubernatorial election in Ondo state, asserting that he is not the new leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Southwest geopolitical zone.
The Governor, who is believed to have played a huge role in the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as the Ondo governor-elect, noted in a statement personally signed by him, “the recurring misnomer and mis-description in political nomenclature particularly as they relate to the politics of the South-west, and by extension, the country as a whole.
“I refer to the emerging tendency of referring to me and some other members of our great party as the ‘Leader(s) of the South West’ or ‘New Leader(s) of the APC in the South West’.
“When that phrase was first brought to my attention, particularly during the weeks preceding the Ondo State gubernatorial election, my immediate reaction was to ignore same as yet another distractive antics of the opposition.
“Somehow, the misnomer stuck and it came to appear rather more frequently in several other fora and publications, including respectable gatherings and the media.”
Amosun, who is a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari went on to reject being addressed as the Leader of Southwest APC, even as he reiterated his support and loyalty to the President and the governing party.
He categorically stated that, “I am not, by any stretch of imagination, the leader or new leader of the APC in the South-west. I am a loyal party member, and I shall stand by our party and of course, with President Muhammadu Buhari. I am also obliged to respect all our leaders in the state, South-west and Nigeria.
“This is the minimum that is required of every party member by custom, and by the constitution of the party. I acknowledge that these are rather difficult times in the life of our party and in the nation.
“I am confident that we shall overcome and our party, the APC, and our dear country will come out even stronger, more viable and united.”
The Ogun Governor pointed out that “true leadership” could not be by conjecture or wishful thinking, stressing that: “From the template that we inherited from our forbearers, it is usually earned. In political parlance, leadership also evolves. If we take this as our guide, even as governor, I have leaders from my state and at the national level”.
While distancing himself the new status, he said, “Lies and misconceptions, when told and asserted repeatedly with gusto, have the tendency to assume the toga of the truth. It is for these reasons that I have considered it of critical importance to set the records straight.
“As the governor of an APC controlled state, Ogun, I am a huge stakeholder in my party. In all that I do, in the open and in private, the bigger interest of our party remains the guiding principle for my actions, decisions and alliances.
“I grew up in the old Western Region, where loyalty to corporate goal and party supremacy was the hallmark of a true party member, and indeed every citizen.”
The statement continued, “By the grace of God, I currently serve my people as the governor of Ogun State. My total preoccupation and commitment is to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of Ogun State that the Almighty God used to give me the opportunity to serve them.
“We will not take the support of our people for granted. We shall work even harder to justify their confidence and, by the grace of God, leave the state better than we met it and in a blaze of glory.
“These, rather than some insensitive, phony and imaginary leadership contest, are my aspirations,” he stated.
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