Our Target Is Southern Presidency, Says Akeredolu

The Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has denied supporting any presidential candidate under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying his focus is to see a Southerner become the president in the 2023 presidential election.

The governor in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde said the intention of the writer who reported that he endorsed a particular aspirant, though juvenile, was to drag him into unnecessary declarations, despite public knowledge of his position as the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum.

According to the statement, largely laced with partisan interest and fluid narrative, was not authored by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

Akeredolu said he will have to continue to reiterate the stance of his brother Governors in the Southern Nigeria Governor’s Forum on the need for the south to produce the next president of the country in the spirit of equity and fairness.

His words: “In clear terms, the widely circulated statement never emanated from Governor Akeredolu. It was driven by overzealous partisan interests calculated to exploit the political capital of the Governor for personal gains.

“We, however, urge members of the public, particularly, members of the APC and the party supporters to disregard the statement as it does not represent the collective decision of the Southern Governors’ Forum which Governor Akeredolu leads.

“Succinctly, Governor Akeredolu as a leader and stakeholder in the southern presidency agitation is committed to the interest of the Southern Nigeria geopolitical zone. He will not descend into an arena of partisanship to jeopardize the interest of the forum he leads.”