The Orangun of Ila in Osun, Oba Wahab Oyedotun, has appealed to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola and the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) to refrain from imposition in choosing its candidate for the Sept. 22 gubernatorial election in the state.
The Media Adviser to the Governor, Sola Fasure, in a statement on Tuesday in Osogbo, said the monarch made the appeal during Aregbesola’s visit to in Ila-Orangun.
The statement quoted Oyedotun as urging the governor and APC to ensure that the party’s candidate for the election emerges from a credible primary that would be seen to be transparent by all party members.
” The selection of the flag bearer should not only be seen as credible, but it should be transparent enough to majority of members.
“I must state here that APC remains the party to beat in the coming gubernatorial election, but the party must be careful in the choice of candidate to be presented for election.
“As long as they avoid imposition in the choice of candidate there won’t be problem for the party in the election because Aregbesola has done remarkably well for the coast to be clear for victory in the poll, ” the statement quoted the monarch as saying.
Oyedotun also commended the governor for bringing growth and development to the state.
“Aregbesola’s contribution to the growth and development of Osun is unrivalled and we thank God for the manner in which he steered the ship of the state , especially in the area of schools and other infrastructural development,’’ the monarch added.
In his remarks, Aregbesola urged party members not to allow aspirants in the party to divide them, saying a lot of people would be coming out to aspire for the post of governor.
The governor said that his visit to the town was a wakeup call to members of the APC in the constituency.
He said as the Sept. 22 date of the election approaches, all members of the party must rise up to the challenge of making the party win the election.
“We are here to sensitise our party members to serious party work and stimulate the citizenry at large to the need to be sensitive to the machinations and intrigues of the opposition party which had the opportunity to rule the state but failed woefully.
“We are reminding our party loyalists of the fact that these same people have ruled Osun before our emergence but the record of our achievements is there to compare and contrast with their own.
“We have appealed to our people to work together in unison to ensure that our party remains the political party to beat in any election,’’ Aregbesola said.