Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, today received accolades from the All Progressives Congress (APC) south-west zonal Peace and Reconciliation Committee for his unique leadership style and selflessness that has made the state one of the most politically stable and peaceful in the country.
The Borno State Governor, Kazeem Shettima-led committee described Ajimobi as “a lover of peace, especially in his approach to resolving the crises that resulted from the party’s primary elections in the state”.
Speaking with journalists at the venue of the committee’s meeting with aggrieved APC aspirants from Oyo and Osun States in Ibadan, Shettima said only one APC governorship aspirant still has some reservations about the outcome of the primary elections in Oyo State.
Shettima said the aspirant, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), had also informed the committee that “he was not coming to complain but to make an input into the work of the committee”.
“I want to commend the governor of Oyo State. Oyo is the least rancorous of all the states in the Southwest. He has provided the leadership; the level-playing field to the extent that only one person came from Oyo and he has said he is not coming to complain but to meet the members of the committee so as to make his inputs.
“This achievement is highly commendable and the commendation is extended to the state party chairman, Chief Akin Ok, who has used his age, understanding and maturity to sustain peace in our party in Oyo State. We are proud of you all.
“We are here essentially to build bridges of understanding, to reconcile our aggrieved party members and see to it that appropriate recommendations are made to the NWC of the party for us to make progress as a party and make amends where necessary,” Shettima said.
Speaking in the same vein, another member of the committee, Hadjia Saida Sa’ad Bugaje, noted: “We all have a lot to learn from the example of Oyo State where reconciliation had already taken place. We are all proud of Oyo State and we are sure the whole country will learn from your example.”
The conduct of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who is a member of the committee, in the aftermath of the APC governorship primary in Lagos State, was a also mentioned as a worthy example for all aggrieved aspirants to emulate.
The reconciliation team which also has former deputy governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, as a member, held closed-door meetings with Senator Iyiola Omisore, Chief Yemi Farounbi, Akintola, and other party loyalists present.
The Borno State governor said the committee would present it’s report to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) for necessary actions.
He, however, gave the assurance that none of the grievances expressed by the aggrieved party members would be overlooked.
“We have finished our assignment here to cover Oyo and Osun states. We have listened to our members. We have noted their grievances, and most importantly their observations and we are going to send these grievances and observations to the NWC of the party for appropriate actions.
“We implore them to exercise patience, to show courage and to emulate my very good brother, Governor Ambode of Lagos. He is a study in tolerance, accommodating spirit and courage. Definitely, the NWC will take far-reaching decisions to see that we achieve our dream of winning the 2019 elections. Everyone is important in this cause. We are not going to underrate anyone,” Shettima said
