The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tackled the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, for saying his party would capture the whole of South West.
During a stakeholders’ meeting in Ondo, on Sunday, Ganduje had said the November 16 governorship election is the state was a done deal for the ruling party, adding that Osun and Oyo, which are PDP-controlled states would be captured by the APC.
But addressing journalists at the PDP headquarters on Monday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, said the former governor of Kano might be declared persona non grata in the the SouthWest.
He also asked the International Community to see the statement as a threat, saying “these are the statements that we have seen over the months, talking about totalitarianism and one party state in this country.”
He said, “So what he’s saying is that he’s going to take the South West State and its people as prisoners of war. So for us, it is troubling.
“But this is actually a warning. The people of South West have a very rich history, a people that are very strong willed, that are politically educated and they know what they want. And for anybody who is a student of history, will recognize clearly that the South West has always been a bastion for democratic right.
“For Ganduje to come into Ondo State and say those reckless things, call for the attention of Nigerians and indeed international community that he is a threat to democracy. And so to Ganduje, he should be careful about South West, because he could be declared as a ‘personal non grata’ in the south west for these recklessness.
“The APC should know, and I’m sure some of the leaders recognize that and they should stay away from Ondo State. The election of November 16 in Ondo State is a different ball game entirely. The people of Ondo state are ready, they are set to vote the PDP and any attempt, having regards to the history of Ondo people, you can’t cow them, you cannot suppress them from whatever they believe in. The APC should watch it, and they should know that, we do not take threats and the idea of capture. We’ve never been captured, we are not prisoners.”
