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Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has declared that the All Progressives Congress, APC, manipulated former governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo state out of office in its desperation to have a seeming national spread.
Prior to the sack of Ihedioha and his replacement with Hope Uzodinma of APC who came fourth in the Imo governorship election in 2019 by the Supreme Court, the APC had no single elected governor in the entire southeast zone.
Speaking late Sunday night ahead of Monday’s enlarged meeting of the PDP governors forum in Ibadan, Oyo State, where the host governor, Oluseyi Makinde hosted his colleagues to a gala night in honor of the Forum, described the ruling APC as lacking the requisite national spread to represent the interest of the country.
Tambuwal said: “The meeting of the PDP-GF holding in Ibadan tomorrow is already holding a promise… We must not lose hope that Nigeria and Nigerians will triumph against the evil forces working against us.
“That is the promise the PDP is holding for Nigeria, by the grace of God, come 2023. We are on a salvation mission; and it is part of the reasons why we institutionalize this meeting, moving from one state to the other, going forward. We were in Benue, now in Ibadan. From here, tomorrow, we shall know where we’re going next.”
According to him, it was part of the scheming of APC, which felt that it had no governor in the South-East to scheme the ex-governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha, out of office. In his place, Hope Uzodinma was brought in. But God intervened and gave Edo to Gov. Godwin Obaseki, thus making the South-South solidly a PDP turf and rendering “APC a party without national outlook,” Tambuwal noted.
“With their scheming and shenanigans around the party (PDP),” they tried to manipulate the Edo election, the governor stressed.
“It was God’s doing and a message both to the APC and Nigerians- that the APC is not a national party, and it does not have national spread,” he added.
“It is, therefore, a Clarion call for our leaders and people of our country that we must work together to rescue the country,” the Forum’s Chairman further added.
In his remarks at the modest event, the host governor, Makinde noted that “you may see only six governors here but all the six geopolitical zones are represented.
“This is the difference between our party, PDP, and the APC. If they try to have such a meeting they will not have a representative from the South-South.
Governors attendance at the gala night were: Senator Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, Governor of Adamawa, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Enugu state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others include National Vice Chairman South West, Amb. Taoheed Arapaja, National Vice Chairman South East, Chief Ali Odefa, and former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola among others.