Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has met with stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 18 local government areas of the state and urged them to embrace peace and unity ahead of the coming governorship election in the state.
The meeting, which was the first since the governor was inaugurated, brought all the contending forces within the party together
In his address, Aiyedatiwa appreciated the party leaders for their support, stressing the need for all contending forces within the party to come together to move the party and the State forward.
Aiyedatiwa said, “It is important for me to tell you that as leaders of our party, we must put behind us the events of the last few months and come together as one big family for the progress of the APC and the development of our dear State.
“To me, what happened in the past was just politics. It was not a fight; it was not a battle; it was mere politics and I can say that I did not take any offence from that. The most important thing for us is to remain as one big family. There should be no division in our party.
“There is the need to make our party stronger and that necessitated the idea of this enlarged stakeholders meeting to bring everybody on board. Our party leaders and members are critical stakeholders that we cannot afford to neglect.’’
The governor said there have been complaints from many of the party officers at local levels of not being carried along in the scheme of things, saying such segregation within the party must now be a thing of the past.
He added that all the party officers from ward to local government to state levels will be given the recognition they deserve.
Aiyedatiwa stated that he would liaise with the leadership of the party to ensure the smooth running of the party structure, regular stakeholders’ engagement, and the operations of the Leaders’ Caucus and the Governor’s Advisory Council.
