Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti on Sunday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the Saturday Ekiti governorship election because the party has a sellable product in Mr Biodun Oyebanji, the Governor-elect.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oyebanji won the governorship election with
Fayemi made the assertions when he led other APC governors, under the Ekiti Governorship Campaign Council to present a copy of the election results to Oyebanji in his home town, Ikogosi.
NAN reports that on Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Jigawa were on the entourage of Fayemi to Ikogosi.
The governor said that there were all manners of pundits and analyses, which put the stakeholders on their toes and pushed them to work harder for the success of the election.
He said there were those who predicted victory for other parties, while there were those who said APC would “carry the day”.
According to him, we were able to achieve victory, not just because of the hardwork of our party.
“We were able to do that because we have a sellable product in Mr Abiodun Oyebanji.
“This is a candidate that is very well known to Ekiti people, someone who started demonstrating commitment to the Ekiti project in his twenties.
“Someone, who acted as the Secretary of the Committee for the creation of Ekiti way back in the nineties.
“Don’t be surprised, if you have someone who was there at the birth of the state at a relatively young age as our candidate.
“He has served in many government capacities as Commissioner, Chief of Staff and other positions in both my administration and that of the first elected Governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
“You can see that the trajectory has been very clear, has been on the upswing, has been very focussed on making Ekiti better.
“The results of the governorship election is significant.
“It is a statement about the quality of our candidate and a statement about the confidence reposed in us for having serve them meritoriously in the last four years,” Fayemi said.
Earlier, Bagudu, who doubled as the Chairman of Ekiti APC Governorship Campaign Council, praised Fayemi and other party stakeholders in the state for their steadfastness in achieving the desired victory for the party.
He congratulated the governor-elect on his victory, urging him to consolidate on the gains of the present administration in the state.
Responding, the Governor-elect, thanked the governors for the visit, promising to consolidate on the achievements of the present administration in the state.
NAN reports that the major highlight of the visit was the presentation of the original copy of the governorship election results to Oyebanji.
However, Oyebanji had earlier in his acceptance speech in Ikogosi Ekiti, extended his hands of fellowship to other contestants, saying that his victory signal hope for APC in Osun Governorship election.
The governor-elect said he would seek audience with his fellow contestants to benefit from their wealth of ideas on how to move the state forward.
Oyebanji promised that he would open the channels of consultations to gather more inputs that would form the blueprint of his administration.
He said that the coming days would witness the constitution of a transition committee to guarantee a seamless transition in demonstration of his preparedness to bring about more development to the state.
Oyebanji expressed deep appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and Fayemi for providing the needed supports that guaranteed his success in the election.
The governor-elect commended the people of the state for conducting themselves properly and using their votes to repose confidence in him to govern the state in trust for them, promising to consolidate and sustain the good legacies of his predecessors.
The governor-elect thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies and other major stakeholders, who played critical roles in ensuring the electoral process was conducted peacefully. (NAN)
