A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle Wednesday advised the immediate past governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to apologise to aggrieved APC members in the state ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Alhaji Ibikunle who is also the chairman of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission gave the advice in Ibadan while speaking with journalists.
He stressed that for APC to regain its popularity in Oyo state, there is the need for the former governor to jettison his ego and join hands with him and other like minds in rebuilding and reshaping the party for the challenges ahead.
“What all of us, the leaders of the party should be concentrating on is how to achieve genuine reconciliation, serious pacification of the aggrieved ones. What I expected from the immediate past governor and our leader is some level of soberness and expression of genuine apologies to those he had either by commission or omission held down in the last eight years,” he said.
Alhaji Ibikunle added, “As a loyal, committed and totally dedicated member of the APC, I used all in me to work for the party in my ward and local government in all the elections and my results which are far better than the results of our party in the polling units of those accusing me falsely, are public information which anybody can verify.
“I did all this, in spite of the neglect, dispossession and persecution I and my followers suffered in the hands of the then governor. Anyway, unlike them, I am not known for greed, callousness and self centeredness”.
“For instance, you asked people to buy nomination forms to contest for chairmanship and councillorship primaries and because of their firm belief in you and your leadership, these people went ahead selling their property, their heritage, spent all their live savings and even borrowed money only for you to jettison primaries and unilaterally pick only members of your faction. Is that fair? Is that how to lead? What is progressive in that? Many of these people’s lives have been permanently ruined and yet no words of succor from Senator Ajimobi.”
The chairman of National Lottery Regulation stressed, “I am a progressive to the core and my primary interest is to see that our great party, the APC regains all that we lost in the last general elections. My appeal to all the leaders is to always be mindful of the interests, the future of the young ones following us. We should not because we have acquired so much for ourselves and families, attained the unprecedented in governance and politics and now destroy the party.
