Again, Abiodun, Amosun exchange hot words over 2023 elections

The All Progressives Congress in Ogun state has berated a former governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun over his comment that Governor Dapo Abiodun did not win the 2019 governorship election.

The party said Amosun, a chieftain of the APC, was suffering from “political amnesia and out-of-office loneliness.”

The APC, in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Saturday by its Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, said Amosun needs prayer.

Oladunjoye called on the general public to pray for Amosun, who is a serving Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, over the comment that the governor got to the office through rigging.

Amosun had on Friday shortly after receiving an award from the Abeokuta Club during its 50th anniversary held in Abeokuta, said Abiodun won through rigging in 2019 and that those who rigged the election for the governor had apologised to him

Reacting to the allegation, the APC described the ex-governor’s claim as “an after-lunch belching of a man suffering from political amnesia and loneliness.”

The statement read: “The attention of our party has been drawn to a statement reportedly credited to the immediate past governor of Ogun State and the chief promoter of the Allied Peoples Movement, His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

“The quoted statement was not only an insult to the psyche of the people of Ogun State, but also a sad indication that the former governor is yet to purge himself of extreme arrogance and intolerance that were his trademarks, which earned him suspension from our party, even as a sitting governor.

“The APC, therefore, calls on the general public, and particularly our esteemed members, to pity and pray for the former governor as he obviously suffers from political amnesia, loneliness and absolute lack of touch with reality.

“There is absolute no truth in the specious utterance of the former governor who is obviously still sulking from the electoral defeat of his surrogate party in 2019. Our party and candidate not only won fair and square, the victory of Prince Dapo Abiodun was also attested to by his co-contestants, many of whom later joined APC and are still in APC.

“It is on record that many of the then opposition figures like former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmat Badru, the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Rueben Abati and others served in the Economic Transition Committee chaired by Mr. Tunde Lemo, which was set up by Prince Dapo Abiodun, immediately after the elections.

“While confirming the victory of Governor Abiodun at the Saturday, March 9, 2019 election, the tribunal led by Justice Yusuf Halilu, in its judgment, stated that: “This petition does not only fail, it is destined to fail, it fails and hereby dismissed.”

“Not satisfied, the APM and its candidate went on appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan and later at the Supreme Court where they also lost. It is remarkable that in all the petition and court cases, the judgments were unanimously passed without any dissenting voice from the tribunal members and the judges at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court,’’ the statement added.

Earlier, the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, had taken a swipe at his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, saying, Ogun State is not anybody’s father’s inheritance”.

Abiodun said this on Saturday while speaking with newsmen shortly after the grand finale of the 50th anniversary of the Abeokuta Club.

Abiodun called on the people of the state to ignore his predecessor, insisting that he would not join issues with him.

He declared that he would not be distracted by any person who has a problem with self-delusion.

Abiodun said he would rather focus on his mandate and not join issues with anyone who wants to play God.

Amosun had on Friday said the election that produced Governor Abiodun was fraudulent, vowing that he would ensure removal of the governor come 2023.

He said “I will not be distracted by any person or persons who have a problem with self-delusion.

“I will not be distracted by any person who does not appreciate that Ogun State is not anybody’s father’s inheritance, we are all stakeholders in this commonwealth called Ogun state.

“I am not going to join issues with anyone that wants to play God; I will leave them to God, God can deal with whoever is challenging His authority and wanted to play God.”