* Lagos gov now party coordinator for zone
Segun James
Ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial election in Ondo State, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, admonished his colleagues to ensure that the All Progressives Congress (APC) retained leadership in the South-West Zone.
This was as Sanwo-Olu, has been appointed the Zonal Coordinator for the party, the APC.
Speaking after a meeting of the zone in Lagos, the governor said members of the National Working Committee and Zonal Working Committee had resolved to intervene on issues and engage with critical stakeholders to ensure they were not only taken care of but also enjoyed the dividends of democracy.
The APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, had inaugurated and presented letters to six governors at the party headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, March 26, to coordinate party activities and reconcile aggrieved members of the party in each of the six geo-political zones.
The zonal coordinators were Babajide Sanwo-Olu (South-West), Hope Uzodinma of Imo (South-East), Bassey Otu of Cross River (South-South), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara (North-Central), Mai Mala Buni of Yobe (North-East), and Uba Sani of Kaduna (North-West).
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with the APC National and Zonal Executive members from the South-West at the Lagos House, Marina, Sanwo-Olu pledged to live up to the responsibility by working with the entire team to reposition and strengthen the party in the South-West.
The governor, who was handed a congratulatory letter on his appointment as the Zonal Coordinator for APC South-West by the officials, said the inaugural meeting with the party’s national and zonal executives was to deliberate and come up with far-reaching decisions that would put the party on its feet and the right pedestal.
“We are engaging in all the issues that we have in all our states and trying to bring all of us together. We are beginning to look at areas, where we can indeed intervene as a zone, especially with critical stakeholders. We have identified students, youths, and people living with disabilities. We all have things we can do differently.
“We all have things from the South-West that we can continue to push into our national conversation to ensure that the stakeholders in the region are very focused and ensure that people feel the real dividends of democracy. And to generally put APC as the biggest party in Africa, the biggest party in the country, and to continue to remain the biggest party in the South-West.
“We have identified the places we need to work, and the work is continuous. We are working in Oyo State. We will continue to work in Osun State. We will continue to work in Ondo State. Ondo State has a unique issue because we have an election coming up, that affects all parties.
“There are candidates that have been thrown out; there are people who have aspired to be aspirants and will turn out to be candidates after the primary elections. We are all brothers and sisters; we will resolve all our issues in-house, and I want to assure you that APC will continue to remain the party of choice in Ondo State.”
Speaking after the inaugural meeting, the national and zonal officers of APC in the South-West passed a vote of confidence in Governor Sanwo-Olu, saying the appointment of the Governor as zonal coordinator by the national leadership of the party is well deserved.
