Ogun 2019: God will never forgive me if I fail to support Akinlade, says Gov Amosun

The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun on Monday vowed to give everything which God had blessed him with to work towards ensuring the electoral victory of the governorship candidate of Allied People’s Movement (APM), Hon. Abdulkabir Adekunle Akinlade.

Amosun also declared his unalloyed support towards working for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election in 2019.

The Governor who made the declaration in Abeokuta, the State capital while addressing hundreds of his loyalists and supporters who thronged the Presidential Lounge for a meeting on the way forward in the forthcoming general elections.

Speaking at the meeting, Amosun, who blew hot over the manner at which the national leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) handled the disagreement generated by the outcome of the party primaries, explained that his anointed man, Akinlade had all his “blessings to pursue the mandate freely given to him” by the people of Ogun state on any platform of his choice.

The House of Representatives had last Friday 30th November, 2018 announced the defection of Hon. Akinlade, currently representing Egbado South and Ipokia Federal Constituency in the House from APC to APM.

But addressing his supporters, the Ogun governor said himself and his loyalists were ready to work for no other governorship candidate in the state other than Akinlade.

Stressing that he was not ready to hide behind one finger concerning where he stands, Amosun appealed to his loyalists to only cast their votes for Buhari “in other to be part of the South West history that enthrones Buhari for a second term of office.

In the same manner, the governor also told them to vote in the pattern at which they have promised him to do for Akinlade during elections.

Amosun said whenever he would be going out on the field campaigning for Buhari, his loyalists and supporters should not mistake it to mean campaigning for any other governorship candidates other than Akinlade.

He said it is only by doing so that the leadership of his party would know that it is an injustice to subvert the wishes of the people, particularly as expressed in the APC governorship primary held last October 2, 2018.

Earlier in the day, the 26 aggrieved APC members loyal to the governor who allegedly won tickets for the State House of Assembly but were “denied”, announced their movement from the party to the APM.

The aggrieved politicians cited impunity within APC as reason for their defection to APM.

The defectors said they contested for the State House of Assembly primary conducted in the state last October 7 and declared winner the following day by the APC Committee responsible the task but shocked that their names were not listed as candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Spokesperson of the group, Hon. Lamidi Mosefiu Olatunji, who addressed a press conference in Abeokuta described the exclusion of their names in the INEC’s list as a “mystery”.

Olatunji also said that it was worrisome that people who were either defeated at the primary or didn’t participate at all, got the APC tickets for elections into the Ogun Assembly.

Olatunji, who explained that his group has chosen to move to APM as candidates for the State Assembly election in 2019 however, vowed to also ensure the governorship candidate of the party, Hon. Akinlade emerged victorious in the state.