Ex-Vice President Abubakar Atiku on Monday urged voters in Osun State to support the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in the upcoming governorship election. He said that the party has the best of Nigerians.
Atiku spoke in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, during the final rally for the ADC campaign. He reminded the people of their consistent support for him in past elections.
While encouraging voters to back Najeem Salaam, Atiku assured them they would not regret choosing the former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly. "This is the fourth time I am standing on this podium. Each time I stood here, you have given me your vote. I cannot forget that because your daughter is in my house. I came here for the current governor and I told you people to support him and you voted him.
"I came here on my presidential campaign, you voted for me and you defeated Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For me, I can’t forget that. I have come today to appeal to you again to vote ADC. This is because ADC is different from APC, Accord and other political parties.
"That is because the best of Nigerians are today in ADC. So I have come and I am appealing to you to vote for ADC in the next governorship election. I believe you will not regret voting ADC in the coming governorship election.
"That is why I have come personally to thank you for your previous support and to appeal to you to vote ADC in the next gubernatorial elections. I thank you very much for your turnout which is quite impressive and that has given us optimism that the next elections we are going to win, you are going to win," Atiku said.
Earlier, the ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark, called the rally a celebration of the party's expected victory in Saturday’s election. He urged ADC members to participate fully and protect their votes.
He said, "What we are here to do is celebrate the victory that we are going to come to the ADC on Saturday. Our Presidential candidate is here with us, and this shows the love he has for this party.
"By the time we swear in Najeem Salaam in November, we will be here again to march with you to the government house. On Saturday, protect your votes. Don’t allow anybody to rig you out. They will not rig and get away with it.”
Salaam, the ADC candidate, shared some of his plans if he wins. He promised to improve the energy sector for stable electricity and assured the people that there would be no electoral fraud.
"If we win the election, I want to tell you that our electricity will be stable. We have a solution to that and it is a promise. On Saturday, nobody will be allowed to rig us out. What they did in Ekiti State will not happen here.
"Education from the primary to the secondary school for our children will be free and we will also ensure that we have a committee that will review the tuition fees in our higher institutions with a plan to bring it down.
"Children from age 1 to 18 will have access to free medical treatment in well equipped government hospitals. Our pregnant women will have free treatment. Our elders and widows will be taken care of. In our first 100 days, we will employ 20,000 youths. The farmers should know that we will empower them and do the needful," Salaam said in Yoruba.
During the rally, the ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, stated that the party has no alliance with any other party for the Osun governorship election. He said party members could accept inducements but must vote for ADC.
Aregbesola emphasized that ADC follows the governance style of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He urged voters to come out and support the party on election day.
He described Salaam as the face of continuity and noted his plans to re-establish O’YES to employ 20,000 youths, revive the O’MEALS school feeding program, expand mechanized agriculture, and invest in rural infrastructure and technology.
"This election is about the future of Osun. Quality education, youth opportunities, farmer prosperity, and a government that truly serves the people," Aregbesola said.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇