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Protest Against Osun Governorship Result An Act Of Gross Irresponsibility, Says Aregbesola

On the protest, Aregbesola said: “I will not even respond to this because what you are referring to is a charade, an act of gross irresponsibility from people who ought to know that after an election, the only option left for every responsible citizen is to go to the tribunal.

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Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday described the protest against the result of Osun State governorship election as an act of gross irresponsibility.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, were among the PDP leaders that staged a protest against the outcome of the election at the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

Aregbesola spoke with State House correspondents yesterday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the meeting with Buhari, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Election Campaign in Osun State and Governor of Kano State, Umaru Ganduje, and Aregbesola, formally presented the governor-elect of Osun, Gboyega Oyetola, to the President.

On the protest, Aregbesola said: “I will not even respond to this because what you are referring to is a charade, an act of gross irresponsibility from people who ought to know that after an election, the only option left for every responsible citizen is to go to the tribunal.

“And again interestingly, the other party defeated in the election is already in the tribunal. I don’t now know what the protest you are talking about is meant to do.

“If you are already in court and you are still doing a street protest either you are not mentally stable or you need psychiatric attention,” he said.

On the purpose of the visit to the Villa, he said they came to thank Mr. President.

He said: “We came with the chairman of the party in the state and the deputy governor -elect as well as the national chairman of the party to express our gratitude to the President.

“Yesterday, we met with the national chairman to do the same. Before yesterday, soon after the receipt of the certificate of return by the two candidates who won the election to the offices of the governor and deputy governor indeed the President expressed joy and charged us not to relent in mobilising our people to support his own election and the return of our parliamentarians at the state and national assemblies and made commitment that we will not rest again in mobilising our people to victory in all the other subsequent elections.

“He noted our observations and he assured us that the party will continue to enjoy support with the administration. I want to use this medium to thank all progressives in Nigeria and to assure them that Osun has been the forerunner of victory for our party ever since.”

On his part, the governor-elect, Oyetola, promised to run a very transparent government in Osun State.

He said “I came to say a big thank you to Mr. President for the support he gave to us during the election and to thank the leadership of our party all over the country for being with us throughout the period and to assure him that by the grace of God, I must  run a very transparent government.”

According to him, he would continue the good work already done by Aregbesola and the party in the state.

“I will want to continue to consolidate on those achievements and improve on them in the areas of infrastructure, health and economy.

“It is a continuation of the legacies that he built. I believe that the people have confidence in our party. They believe in us and we will not abuse the opportunity given to us to continue to be in government.

Ganduje said: “We came to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, for providing the enabling environment for a fair election in Osun State.

“We are here in order to present our governor-elect to Mr. President and to thank him in what he has done in order to allow a free and fair election.”

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