A former member of the Ondo State Assembly, Honourable Tomide Akinribido, officially joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Tuesday.
The former lawmaker, who represented Ondo West constituency 1 at the 9th Assembly, joined APC with hundreds of his supporters from Ondo East Local Government Area of the state following his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Akinribido, who was a deputy-minority leader of the 9th Assembly of the Ondo State House Assembly, said his decision to join APC was borne out of the desire to join hands with the progressives to develop the state
He assured the party leadership of his cooperation to help build the party’s structure.
According to him, his conviction to work with the progressives was affirmed by the state governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa, who has been showing the required capacity and political will to steer the ship of the state perfectly and better the lot of the Ondo state citizenry.
He appealed to the party stakeholders to rally around the Governor and ensure his reelection in the forthcoming governorship election in 2024
The state governor, while welcoming the lawmaker and his supporters, described Akinribido as an asset to the party, saying the former lawmaker will contribute positively to the development of the party and the state.
Represented by the Speaker of the Ondo Assembly, Rt. Hon.Olamide Oladiji, Akinribido is a home-bred and grassroots politician with superb antecedents and envious records during his stint as a state legislator.
Also speaking, the representative of the state party chairman, the APC Financial Secretary, Chief Olu Akinbohun, said the defection of Akinribido was a dream come true, saying the former lawmaker possesses a high level of intellect and capacity that the APC would benefit from.
Also, the member representing Ondo East/West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiola Makinde, hailed Akinribido for joining the Progressives group.
He described Akinribido as a fantastic young man who is well-behaved, polite, and humble, asserting that his defection to the APC will add strength to the party’s political structure, particularly in Ondo Kingdom.
The Ondo West local government chairman of the APC, Hon. Bernard Aro, who presented Hon. Tomide to the party stakeholders and members, assured the new entrants that they would not be treated as new members
All the new members were, however, presented membership cards by the Ward 7 chairman of Ondo West APC, Mr Mayowa Oladele, who advised them to join hands with others to ensure victory for APC in all elections.
The dignitaries present at the event include the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji; Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abayomi Akinruntan; Member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiola Makinde; Former Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor, Hon. Dr. Jibayo Adeyeye; Member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiola Oladapo; State Financial Secretary of the APC Chief Olu Akinbohun; immediate past Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Hon. Wale Akinlosotu; Chairman of the Ondo State Signage & Advertising Agency, Hon. Akinwande Akinrodoye.
Also at the defection are the Commissioner representing Ondo Central in the OSOPADEC board, Hon. Akinrotoye Kehinde; the immediate past Caretaker Chairman of the North West LCDA, Hon. Onidare Sunday Bukunmi; his Vice Chairman, Hon. Folajimi Akintunde; the former Caretaker Vice Chairman of the Ondo West Local Government, Alhaji Oluwole Bashiru; and the former Vice Chairman of the Ondo South West LCDA, Hon. Maxwell Adelosoye, among other stakeholders, too numerous to mention.
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