Ondo State | Group slams Rotimi Akeredolu for insulting Tinubu over 2012 guber poll

A group, Ondo Collectives for Change, has berated one of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), for claiming that the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, did not support him during the 2012 governorship election in the state.

The group which is also the campaign organization of an APC governorship aspirant in Ondo State, Mr Segun Abraham, expressed resentment at the comment credited to Akeredolu, the then candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in the highly pulsating governorship election, said his statement has further confirmed that Akeredolu can’t be entrusted with the party’s ticket.

Akeredolu allegedly made the comments while appearing as guest on a programme tagged: ‘Guest of the week’ on an Akure based station, Positive 102.5 FM on Thursday.

He was quoted to have said: “We can say it here, so it is not new today that Bola Ahmed Tinubu says he want to support Abraham, he argued for him in 2012, but God chose me in 2012. So if he is now supporting him today, that is a repetition and God will still choose me this time.”

A statement issued by the spokesman of the group, Kola Ademujimi said: “The whole world could attest to the fact that that(2012) election was a battle between Governor Mimiko and Asiwaju Tinubu. There was no statement credited to Mimiko and his campaign team where Akeredolu was condemned, because they knew him as a political featherweight and neophyte.

He said: “All their arsenals were directed at Tinubu and the only campaign slogan reverberating on the lips of Mimiko was that Akeredolu was about to be imposed on Ondo people by the former Lagos governor, so that they can loot the state and make Ondo an extension of Lagos political empire.

“Another imperative question to ask the Senior Advocate(Akeredolu) is that, what was his political antecedent for the likes of political heavyweights like Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Segun Abraham and many others to have stepped down for him at the primary? This was made possible because of Tinubu’s persuasion and the entire world knew except an ingrate like Akeredolu.

Ademujimi added: “I know that this comment will go a long way in shaping the minds of the 3,000 APC delegates that will participate in the Wednesday primary about the personality of Akeredolu and his ilk, who threw jibes and tirades at their benefactors just because political scheming of the moment is not in their favour.

“I wonder if Akeredolu, who woefully lost in his unit in Owo during the election could have won up to ten wards instead of the three local governments he won, if those, who sacrificed their ambitions for him to emerge the ACN candidate had taken this perilous path he is treading. I want to advise Akeredolu to rely on names -calling to whip up sentiments to get the supports of the delegates, because this strategy will fail as delegates will reject him based on his unstable character as manifested in his behaviour and open confrontation with party leaders.”

Meanwhile, Akeredolu, who is a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, has clarified his statement on alleged endorsement of candidates by some leaders of the party ahead of the party governorship primary scheduled for Saturday September 3.

In a statement issued by Akeredolu Campaign Platform, the governorship aspirant, stated: ”My attention has been drawn to some stories making the rounds especially on the social media linking me with some ridiculous comments and incendiary quotes on the purported endorsement of candidates in the governorship primary. Those who know my antecedents will attest to the fact that I am a man of courage. For the avoidance of doubt, I didn’t insult any of our national leaders in APC, especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as quoted mischievously in the social media….“

The statement reads further: ”Like I have said in my earlier statement, all our leaders have assured us a free and fair primary. What is happening in Ondo state right now is that some leaders are using the name of Asiwaju Tinubu to cause confusion; claiming that he had given them money to work for a particular aspirant. Anybody doing such cannot be described as a leader. Asiwaju Tinubu’s last communication on Ondo State Governorship primary was that there will be free and fair primary.“