From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) chairman in Osun State, Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, has berated the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje over his recent statement that the APC will soon capture Osun and Oyo States.
Odeyemi warned Ganduje and his supporters in the APC not to turn the South West geo-political zone into a war zone.
He said such a statement was not expected from an elder statesman who was aware of the hardship being faced by Nigerians under the headship of his party.
Ganduje had said, “Our next target now is this geopolitical zone, the South West geo-political zone. And you know we are good at getting our target Osun and Oyo States are our next target. We assure you, we will do all that is possible to bring them into the fold so that we would have a political homogeneity in the South West zone.”
Odeyemi noted that “in a free and fair contest, nobody would have voted for APC in Ondo state but because the party has intentionally impoverished the masses, vote-buying became an order of the day.”
He queried why it was difficult for Ganduje to capture his own state, Kano, during their last gubernatorial election if truly he felt Nigerians were with his party.
He said, “One would have ordinarily expected that Dr. Ganduje should have learnt the act of communication commensurate with the position he is presently occupying.
‘”With the economic quagmire being faced by Nigerians now, who would have voted for APC intentionally? Ganduje should not be carried away by the euphoria of what happened in Ondo State.
“Osun people are wise. We are peaceful here. Each party should allow voters to make their choice. Ganduje should not turn South West into a war zone. Spoken words are powerful; 2026 must be without any crisis in Osun.
“If Ganduje was so sure of himself and his party, I believe he should have tested that in his state, where our party flogged him with overwhelming votes,” he added.
Odeyemi however, appealed to eligible voters in Osun to get their voter’s card and be ready to vote for a party with a human face during the 2026 gubernatorial election.