The Minister of State for Niger Delta, Prof. Claudius Daramola, on Wednesday ascribed the victory of APC in the last guber polls in Ondo to the counsel of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said this at a joint briefing of the state House press corps with Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau, Ondo State Governor-elect, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu and his running mate Mr. Agboola Ajayi.
The minister said that the visit of the president to the state on November 19 was the turning point in the fortunes of APC because it removed the party from four decade of playing opposition.
He said, “The presence of our President on November 19, in Akure, the Ondo State capital actually won the election for us because he spoke to the people and the people accepted him and they voted for us massively.
“And today we are happy for it, and I am saying here in the presence of the governor-elect that we will not fail the people of the state.
“We have given our promises to them and we will add to this, we will not leave any one of them out.
“Ondo state had been in opposition for almost four decades and today we are happy that today our people are out of political and economic bondage.
“We have now joined the mainstream.”
The minister said the state was happy for what transpired in the state and predicted that the governor-elect would have a second term.
The governor-elect said that he thanked the President profusely after the election and that the gratitude covered all leaders of the party, including Sen. Bola Tinubu.
He said his relationship with Tinubu was not strained in any way and that the Senator had congratulated him for the victory which was for the entire party in the state.
On the defection of a PDP Senator to APC, he said that the senator decided to move to a stable party as his former party was divided and lacked leadership in the state and at the federal level.
Akeredolu said he stood by his promise not to probe any past leadership as his state had more issues to tackle.
He said, “My own is not to institute probe of the last regime and that is what President Buhari has done.
“But if it is found that wrongs were committed you have enough laws of the land that will take care of people who have committed wrongs.
“It is different from saying that you are instituting probes. So I said I am not interested in probes but we will start our work.
“As we go ahead if there is any semblance of `Dasukigate’ at the state the law will take its course.
“We did not arrive at Dasukigate from probing, it was discovered, so if anything was discovered the law will take its course.
“But we will not go and probe; we will follow what the President is doing.”
NAN
