A retired Army captain and Ibadan-born businessman, Mr Akinjide Kazeem Akinola, has urged every member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, to unite in order to be formidable as one family.
Akinola made the appeal following the return of the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu and himself, into the party, on Friday, after several months of seclusion as a result of internal wrangling that shut out many aspirants in the 2023 general elections.
Promising to give support to party members and voters, Akinjide, who sought to represent Egbeda/Ona-Ara federal constituency, said he holds everyone, including his supporters and every members of the party, in high regard.
In his words: “Of course, I thank Allah for making today a realistic one to have officially returned to my party, APC. The time we spent outside allowed us to see the true nature of the many problems facing the party and how best we can help in making sure the negative occurrences would not repeat itself and spoil the great chances of the party in all elections.
“I think by now, we have seen it is important we go into election with a united front. Division will only allow loss of election. Imagine there was no division among us, we would have formed government in this state. All that is gone is gone.
“We have learnt the necessary lessons and experiences that would further sharpen our knowledge of politics. We now know that there should be thorough and transparent internal democracy that will brighten the party’s chances at the polls.
“As you can see here at the state office of our party. I am not the only one returning to the party. The power minister who spoke earlier also addressed this similar issue. We should ensure party supremacy and be transparent in our dealings.”
Speaking further, he said: “Our coming back to APC is not today. We are only making it official today. APC is our home. It has been for a very long time. We are back to join hands to further strengthen the party and make adequate plans for the next local government election which APC is participating in and 2027 general elections as well.”
“I must thank our followers who have been with us while we are on sabbatical and who are still returning with us back home.”
“It is not an easy decision for us to leave our home, but we had no choice at that time. And now, we are back and informed.” Akinola concluded.
