The Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Babatunde Kolawole, has refuted reports that the party is engulfed in a leadership crisis that has divided it ahead of the 2027 general election.
The chairman said there was no basis for division in the party, as members across the state had been involved in campaigns to ensure that the party’s candidates win the presidential, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
Speaking with journalists in Akure, the state capital, on Friday, Kolawole said the party’s reconciliation efforts were yielding positive results, insisting that no member had been excluded from the ongoing drive to unite all tendencies and strengthen its structure ahead of the polls.
According to him, members of the Ondo APC belonged to the same political family and should not regard one another as rivals, particularly as no governorship election would be held in the state in 2027.
He said, “There is no rivalry, there is no division in our party. So there is no cause for alarm. I can assure you we are on top of it and everything will be okay.”
In his remarks, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign in Ondo State, Victor Olabimtan, affirmed the party’s unity, disclosing that the reconciliation committee constituted after the party’s congresses had reached out to party organs, interest groups and individuals across the country.
He said the committee had visited Abuja to engage some party leaders and contacted others in Lagos and different parts of the country, adding that he had personally reached out to some party leaders, while Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had made the unification of all tendencies within the party a major responsibility since emerging as chairman.
“Nobody is left out. All we need to do is to ensure that we put more effort into strengthening the existing unity that we are all enjoying in the party today.
“So, there is no cause for alarm. As we make progress, you will also see that our efforts, the efforts of the governor, the party and its leaders are indeed yielding fruits to ensure that everybody is brought on board,” he stressed.
Olabimtan noted that President Bola Tinubu’s emergence had presented an opportunity for members to put their differences aside and consolidate the party’s unity.
Similarly, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr Seun Osamaye, pledged the support of women across the state for Tinubu’s re-election, saying a united front and collective mobilisation were critical to achieving the one million votes target.
“Ondo women are firmly behind the President and would work together to secure massive votes for him,” Osamaye declared.
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