After a long meeting with unhappy governorship candidates who took part in last Saturday's primary election in Ondo State, the ruling All Progressives Congress has encouraged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to lead a government that includes everyone.
The result of the two-hour meeting that began around 4.30 pm was made known by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Duro Meseko.
Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters in Abuja, Meseko stated that the party's National Working Committee adopted this stance after discussing with the governor and the disappointed candidates to create a unified front for the upcoming governorship election in November.
He explained, 'We're here this evening to update you on the meeting held by the NWC with all the candidates who participated in last week's governorship primary in Ondo State. The candidate and the remaining 15 candidates were invited, and two main decisions were made.
First, it was agreed at the meeting that due to the concerns expressed by some candidates about the outcome of the primary, the party needs to keep talking to all the candidates individually and as a group to find common ground for the upcoming elections in the state. Additionally, they need to be able to work together as a united family.
Secondly, it was also agreed that the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, should promptly work on establishing what we call 'inclusive governance' in the state by involving all the other candidates. While most of the candidates won't be able to be part of his government, they have supporters who can contribute. He should collaborate with them to advance the state. These were the two main outcomes of today’s meeting.
Apart from the former commissioner for finance and governorship candidate in Ondo, Wale Akinterinwa, virtually all the candidates who contested the last primary were present at the peace meeting.
The decision of the ruling party was also reiterated by the State Chairman of Ondo APC, Ade Adetimehin, when speaking to journalists at the headquarters.
“As mentioned by the deputy national publicity secretary, the NWC agreed after the two-hour discussion that we will continue to talk to all the candidates. We will continue to engage both at the national and state level.
“The second decision was to lead a government that includes everyone in Ondo State. Our governor was present when this decision was made, and it must start immediately. This should involve the candidates and other members of our party in Ondo State. We believe Ondo is a progressive state. We have a large number of party supporters in the APC.
“In the last election, we have three senatorial seats won by the APC. In the House of Representatives, we won eight out of nine seats. Out of 26 seats in the State Assembly, we secured 22. I think you'll agree that Ondo is an APC state.
“What we discussed here is to decide how to work together and reduce division within our party. I want to thank all the candidates. Sixteen contested in the last primary election. Today’s meeting was attended by 15. This shows that we have allowed room for discussion. That is our objective here,” he said.
Earlier, Aiyedatiwa had told reporters after visiting the State House in Abuja on Thursday that the election did take place, contrary to what some media outlets were suggesting.
The governor also acknowledged that party leaders are making efforts to resolve the disagreement between him and the candidates to ensure they work together.
He mentioned, "The election did happen. I was present in my own ward, and I was counted, and the election took place in my ward. I cannot comment on other wards.
"We are all winners; all the 16 candidates, I'll refer to them as family members because it's a family matter. We were simply seeking a flag bearer among us, and a flag bearer has emerged. Now, we have to cooperate."
