You displayed unusual bravery, APC chieftain writes Makinde

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and member of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Adesoji Akanbi, has written Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, thanking him for working towards the return of the presidency from the North to the South.

Adesoji, a member of the 8th National Assembly, in a letter titled ‘Congratulations on Your Re-Election,’ a copy of which our correspondent obtained on Monday, said the governor had displayed his ‘Omoluabi’ virtue by backing the southern presidency.

Makinde is one of the five aggrieved state governors in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, popularly knows as the G-5, who insisted on the return of power to the South, after the two-term eight-year tenure of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who is from the North.

The G-5 governors had opposed the candidacy of PDP’s presidential candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, another northerner, vowing to work for a southern candidate.

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While the governors tactically refused to openly declare an alleged alliance with the APC and its candidate, Bola Tinubu, they were said to have allegedly worked for the victory of the former Lagos State governor.

The APC had won the presidential election in Oyo and cleared the National Assembly seats in the states governed by the G-5 governors, including Oyo. The PDP candidates had also won in the governorship and House of Assembly elections held on Saturday in those states.

In a veiled reference to the alleged alliance, Akanbi, in his letter to Makinde, hailed the governor for his “display of unusual bravery.”

The letter partly read, “Please accept my heartiest congratulations on your success at the Oyo State governorship election held on Saturday, March 18, 2023, and the renewal of your mandate to govern our beautiful state for another four years. I also celebrate with you on the successful completion of the 2023 electioneering process in Oyo state. I am particularly excited that the people of Oyo state under your leadership, have shown their commitment to growing our democracy and building a country where leaders are elected without violence.

“As one of the founders of the South West Agenda (SWAGA) and the initiator of Coalition Movement for Bola Ahmed Tinubu (COMBAT), the leading campaign mechanism for President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I must also commend your display of unusual bravery in standing by your conviction that the presidency of our dear country should return to the south. Indeed, your display of true Omoluabi virtues at the risk of your own re-election will be remembered on the good side of history.

“On this note, I say that the support you have enjoyed at the polls is fair and well-deserved. Now that the people have spoken and we have heard them loud and clear, we are again reminded of the needs of the people and our place as leaders. I implore you to please remain steadfast and committed to the fulfilment of your promises to further develop Oyo state and improve the lives of our people.”