Kogi, Bayelsa gov election not a fight, not a war but … – Oshiomhole

Abuja – Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) has said that the Nov.16 Kogi and Bayelsa governorship election is not a fight, not a war but insisted that this time around, the votes must count, because Bayelsa are not used to votes being counted.

The National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday said this when he inaugurated the National Campaign Council to complement the efforts of campaign committees set up for the Nov.16 Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.

He said, said that Gov. Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa would chair a 56-council member for Bayelsa while Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State would lead 56 members for Kogi.

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Oshiomhole said that all APC governors would participate in the campaign and that the party would also deploy its human resources to Kogi and Bayelsa to deliver the two states for the party.

“This inauguration demonstrates the party’s readiness to campaign and contest the election,” APC National chairman said.

“For us in the APC, we take these two elections very seriously because we believe in the power of the ballot. We believe that the issues should be contested in a peaceful environment, not by the power of gunshots, which has been the tradition of the opposition, and we know that the people of Bayelsa want a change, and I am sure, Your Excellencies, that change will come 16 November, less than a month from now.

“We set up these two committees to complement the ones already set up in the two states, which you can describe as local organising committees. We are setting up these ones because we believe that we need to deploy all our human resources and all our governors, having experience around elections, they know what the issues are, to reinforce the initiative by our party in Bayelsa and in Kogi and ensure that the elections go smoothly.

“All APC governors are expected to participate in these election National Campaigns Councils for Kogi and Bayelsa. We have also nominated some ministers, senators, some young men and women in the council.

“That of Kogi will be chaired by someone who has made history, Mallam Nasir El’rufai, and Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State will chair the committee for Bayelsa State. There’s going to be a formal inaugural meeting which the chairmen of the two committees will convene to discuss all the logistics strategies and all.

“Let me use this opportunity to assure our opponents that we are ready for campaigns. It’s not a fight, it’s not a war. The only thing we will insist on is that this time around, the votes must count, because Bayelsa are not used to votes being counted. This time, they have to be encouraged to recognise that the votes will not only be cast in a free and fair atmosphere, they must determine who wins, not the power of the barrel of the gun.

“I want the PDP to take note of that and try and learn new tactics of winning votes rather than fighting war.”

Speaking on behalf of the council, El-Rufai thanked the party’s National Working Committee for appointing him as Chairman of the National Campaign Council for Kogi election.

He pledged that his campaign council would be committed to delivering the state to the party.

The governor, who said that re-election of a governor was always tougher than fresh election, said that his campaign council would ensure re-election of Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi through performance, reconciliation and consultation.

Badaru, who was represented by Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, expressed the council’s readiness to complement the efforts of Bayelsa Campaign Organisation to ensure victory for the party in the Nov. 16 election.