Femi Ogbonnikan In Abeokuta
A governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun at the weekend pledged to return on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to its original founding fathers if he elected in 2019.
Abiodun, Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum Limited and Chairman of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), dispelled reports that he was planning to defect to the Action Democratic Congress (ADC).
He dispelled the reports in a statement by his media assistant, Mr. Emmanuel Ojo at the weekend, noting that he found no reason he could dump the party he toiled to raise it from its comatose level in Ogun
East, and the state at large.
He said: “If he is elected as the state’s next governor, he is prepared to return the party to its founding fathers from the usurpers who have hijacked it from entrenching internal democracy, discipline and a sense of belonging.
“It is sad that our founding fathers who fought day and night to give birth to what we now know as APC, right from the Action Congress (AC) have been sidelined from the day-to-day running of the affairs of the party.
“I was part of the delegations that begged and persuaded Chief Olusegun Osoba, who was then, the leader of the AC in 2011, to allow Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who was the then, All Nigeria Progressive
Party (ANPP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, to fly the AC governorship ticket.
“It took me, Senator Bola Tinubu and others more than 10 times before Chief Olusegun Osoba could accede to our pleas and request. As God would have it, Osoba accepted and threw his weight behind the emergence of Amosun as the flagbearer of the AC.
“Amosun won the 2011 Ogun State governorship race, but surprisingly he began to act his own written script that is at variance with the popular expectations of a true democrat.
“Now, Osoba and a host of others who formed the party have become interlopers, that they have been estranged from having a say in the leadership of the party in the state.
“That is not all, I joined the APC at a time its fortune was almost dwindling. In fact, it was near comatose. I put in my best, both morally and financially to bail it out to what we have today.
“As a result, I do not want to be an ingrate. But I am promising to return the party to its original founding fathers if I am elected as the next governor of Ogun State, come May 29, 2019.”
On his planned defection, Abiodun said the reports were fictitious, imaginary and fabricated in order to dissuade attention over his strong objection to the planned adoption of the indirect primary arrangement in Ogun State by the leadership of the party.
He said: “This is nothing but mere propaganda coming from known quarters and can best be described as a clear indication that some people are already admitting defeat even before the approved direct primaries by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. “Abiodun is a known APC stalwart who believes so much in the ideals and values of the progressives and as such, he would never tow any political path that is not honourable as being speculated by the sponsors of the fake story in circulation. He is not a desperate politician who would stop at nothing just because he wants to be a governor at all cost.
“As a cerebral personality, his aspiration has been adjudged a blessing to Ogun state, having garnered an enormous robust corporate experience and pre-requisite leadership skills that will assist our dear state in its quest to be truly seen as the gateway state. Abiodun’s core political drive is to serve the good people of Ogun State and this is the only motivating factor behind his governorship aspiration.
