The current Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has appealed to a former governor of the state, Segun Oni to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oyebanji made the appeal on Tuesday when he visited Oni.
According to Oyebanji, the visit is in fulfillment of his earlier promise to personally call and visit Oni, who he described as “a brother and leader.”
OsunDaily News recalls Oni contested in the June 18, 2022, Ekiti state governorship election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but lost to Oyebanji and challenged the victory of Oyebanji in the election at the Supreme Court.
Speaking on the development, Oyebanji said, “For me, I believe litigation is part of the electoral process and I appreciate His Excellency (Oni) for pursuing the electoral matter up till the apex court and not recourse to self-help.”
Ekiti Needs You
Governor Oyebanji floated the idea of creating a replica of the Council of States in Ekiti, saying though he and Oni belong to different political parties, the development of Ekiti State is more important.
“We have to create that conclave of all former governors irrespective of political parties where we will sit down quarterly and discuss, share ideas, proffer solution and take assignments on behalf of who is governor for us to do nationally.
“We belong to different political parties, but when it comes to Ekiti development, God has put you as a pathfinder and you are an Ekiti man to the core. You love this state.”
Tinubu Needs You
Pleading with Oni, Governor Oyebanji said the former APC chieftain is needed for national assignment now that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu would be assuming the presidency.
He said: “I am pleading with you sir, now that the party you suffered for, where you were deputy national chairman is now in the centre, I am too young to give you a directive but as one of your ardent followers, I want you to consider coming back home. The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, needs every good head, every good hand to succeed and he is from this zone of the country and when Segun Oni is not in the basket, the basket is not full.
“I’m pleading with you in the interest of our people, in the interest of Yoruba nation, in the interest of Nigeria.
“Sir, we campaigned on a mantra of prosperity, and you just spoke about it that we need to develop the state to a point where every indigene of this state will be prosperous irrespective of where they find themselves. We can only do that by creating development centres in our local governments and communities.”
Oni Responds
Responding, Oni thanked the governor for the visit and stressed the need for all stakeholders to join hands in the building of Ekiti State.
“All hands should be on deck to reposition the state by making all communities, development centres to engender true development.
“We must ensure that we do not lead our people into acrimony but lead them into friendship and make politics a lot more pleasant for our people,” Oni submitted.
