THOUSANDS of stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party across the 20 local government areas of Ogun State, on Wednesday, converged on Abeokuta to drag PDP chieftain, Segun Showunmi, out to contest for the Governor of Ogun State in 2023.
The party chieftains and members across all the wards were unanimous in their call for the Showunmi to contest, saying it was time to wrestle power from a united front from the ruling All Progressives Congress.
According to them, Showunmi, who was the spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation in the 2019 election, is their best bet if PDP will ever take back power from the APC.
About six parties, representing the Inter-party Advisory Council of Nigeria, were present at the rally. The chairmen of the party expressed their readiness to join hands with PDP to wrestle power from the ruling party, only if the party could field “someone as strong and deep rooted as Segun Showunmi”.
Members of IPAC, led by the State Chairman, Samson Ogunsanya, therefore declared their support for Sowunmi at the rally held in Abeokuta.
Ogunsanya was flanked by the National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi and the Chairman of Mega Party (MP), Moshood Adesina.
He insisted that if the PDP must make any appreciable impact in Ogun State, Sowunmi must be adopted as the Governorship candidate of the party.
Ogunsanya described Sowunmi as a selfless politician with the capacity to deliver Ogun State from the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“As the umbrella body of the opposition parties in Ogun State, we are here to show our support for our brother, Segun Sowunmi. Sowunmi is a politician with an enviable track record. We believe that he has the capacity to deliver Ogun State from backwardness the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the State in.
“We believe that with Sowunmi in the helms of affairs, Ogun State will witness tremendous progress, therefore, we urge all of you here to support him,” Ogunsanya said.
Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, advised the National leadership of PDP, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and other stakeholders of the party to align with the Governorship ambition of Showunmi.
He commended Sowunmi from rescuing the PDP from those who had hijacked the party structure and stifling the growth of the party in the State.
“We the opposition political parties members want to advise His Excellency Gov Seyi Makinde who is the leader of this party in SouthWest and the National Chairman of PDP, Senator Iyiocha Ayu, that they must look into the direction of this young man, Segun Showunmi, who took the audacious step to rescue the party from the hands of those who had stifled its growth for too long.
“The era of recycled political racketeers, who are strictly merchants without commitment and conscience for the Governed must be collectively brought to a final stop through a positive change in the Ogun PDP.
“Segun Showunmi is set to become the vehicle to bring to an end the usual and unending politics of deceit and insincerity of the old status quo promulgated by the Iperu Political war lord and they all must now henceforth work together and defeat the fully dishonest political Merchants,” Arabambi said.
Sowunmi in his response, declared his ambition to contest the 2023 governorship election in the State.
He blamed the inability of the PDP to win the Governorship seat in the past elections to the infighting in the party and urged all members of the party to jettison their personal interest and work for the progress of the party.
Sowunmi said, “All our (PDP) efforts has not produced any result for some time and the main reason is the unnecessary infighting.
“All you have said concerning Segun Sowunmi to come and run for Governor, I have heard and I heard clearly. I will definitely, most definitely and extremely definitely run for the Governorship of Ogun State in 2023.
“I have spent the last 20 years or more in this political dispensation serving them, speaking for them, improving them, running for them and I have now realised that I’m the leader I have been searching for and I tell you again with every sense of responsibility that you have never seen governance at the level I intend to do it.
“The business of governance of cutting tape because of road is not what we are talking about here. Obafemi Awolowo’s vision for Yoruba nation has now come to be, improved, rewritten and expanded.”
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