President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, in Abuja, appealed to all candidates participating in the 11th November governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States, as well as the electorate to ensure free and fair elections.
The President presented the flags of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the party’s standard-bearers in the upcoming elections. They are former Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva for Bayelsa State; Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; and Ahmed Ododo for Kogi State.
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the President said: “All I am pleading for is for free and fair elections. I believe we will do well”.
He expressed optimism about the party’s chances of victory in the off-season elections, noting the hard work and records of the candidates, as well as the collective efforts of APC officials, members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), and its National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.
He said the collective efforts of the party men were factors inspiring his optimism in the forthcoming elections.
To the Kogi State candidate, President Tinubu said: “I want to thank the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, who is working hard to ensure a handover to our candidate, Usman Ododo.
“We are happy to have Hope Uzodinma, the great hope of our party and chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum. Thank you for the good job you are doing”.
To the Bayelsa State governorship candidate, he said: “Timipre Sylva, congratulations on what you have achieved as a former governor and former minister.
“We are all facing this crusade for democracy, particularly in this time of elections. It is our hope, and we have Hope Uzodinma as a candidate, that we will always come out victorious”.
The Nigerian leader also thanked the national leadership of the party, the NWC and the chairman whom he described as “hardworking” for their active roles.
“He is doing a good job, and I thank him very much”, President Tinubu remarked.
Addressing State House Correspondents after the flag presentation, Ganduje said the court judgments which sacked several governors in the past since 1999 necessitated off-season elections like those held in the three states on 11th November.
He commended the President for endorsing the candidates and for taking time out of his busy schedule to present the flags to them.
“Taking you back memory lane in 1999 when democracy came back to Nigeria again, there was a general election in which produced the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and…the governors of the states…but later on due to litigation and court processes and judgments, a new dimension was created that resulted into off-season elections.
“We visited the three states (Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi) and inaugurated the campaign councils. Today, Mr President has given his endorsements and also provided the flags to the three gubernatorial candidates”, he noted.
