By Ibekimi Oriamaja
Hon. Yekini Nabena, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APCimmediate), has said the party’s defeat in the recently concluded Osun state governorship election serves as a wake-up call to the ruling party, stating that “no one can cheat nature twice.”
Nabena urged the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to warn governors like Lagos state’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others to stop being arrogant toward other state and zone leaders.
Hon. Yekini Nabena, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APCimmediate), has said the party’s defeat in the recently concluded Osun state governorship election serves as a wake-up call to the ruling party, stating that “no one can cheat nature twice.”
Nabena urged the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to warn governors like Lagos state’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others to stop being arrogant toward other state and zone leaders.
The APC chieftain condemned the recent visit of Governors Sanwo-Olu, Rotimi Akeredolu, and Kayode Fayemi, all from the South-west, to Rivers state in the South-south “in search of political marriage with Governor Wike,” without paying respect to the APC leaders in the zone, in a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja.
The era of arrogantly taking people for granted and expecting to win elections, according to Nabena, is over, and APC leaders must respect one another and form a united front ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He also urged party members in Osun and throughout the South-west zone not to be disheartened by the election results, claiming that all hope is not lost.
“Osun state’s governorship election has passed, but we must learn from it.” The APC’s then-National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and his National Working Committee (NWC) worked tirelessly in 2018 to defeat nature in Osun, but nature returned in full force in 2022 to take its place.
“It is a warning to Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others that nature will tourch them if they do not exercise caution.”
“Sanwo-Olu recently traveled to the South-South with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Governor Kayode Fayemi, who cannot deliver Osun state, to woo Governor Nyesome Wike without consulting the APC’s zonal leaders.” That is very disrespectful to our APC leaders from the Niger Delta, where we have Rotimi Ameachi in Rivers, Adams Oshiomhole in Edo, Ovie Omo-Agege in Delta, Chief Timipre Sylva in Bayelsa, Ben Ayade in Cross Rivers, who is even a governor’s colleague, and my humble self. Every state must respect the leader of the South-South APC.”
While demanding an apology from the three governors, the former APC spokesman stated that the Osun state governorship election demonstrated that “together we can win, with unity we can win, not by creating a subsidiary party across the country like Social Democratic Party (SDP).”
“This is a warning to Lagos state governor Sanwo-Olu and his cohorts that the APC South-South leaders are aware of their game plan in Rivers state, but it will not work because on election day, we will vote APC in all boxes; President, National Assembly, Governor, and State House of Assembly.” This will be applicable in all other states across the country. The days of voting APC for President and PDP for Governor are over.”
The APC chieftain, however, called for genuine reconciliation across the country among all APC leaders and stakeholders, while naming Gombe, Kwara, Kogi, Kano, and Ogun as case studies in need of immediate attention.
“The only way out for the APC as a party is to respect leaders in every state and zone, rather than arrogantly arranging your boys to install leaders anywhere, as some paper weight governors from the west who solely rely on Asiwaju to win elections tried to do in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Rivers states.”
“Everyone matters in party politics; you must carry everyone along.” This is a warning to the APC presidential candidate to caution his men who are already thinking of installing leaders across the state with full assurance that their oga (Tinubu) will be the next President and they (the boys) will be in charge of party structures across the states.
“They must also stop viewing all those who ran in primary elections alongside them as enemies.” A contest must always have a winner, which is why it is a democracy. So APC’s arrogance of power will not serve them well because Lagos is not Nigeria; what they can do and get away with in Lagos cannot happen in the rest of Nigeria,” Nabena warned.
