I want to be Ogun governor in 2023 - Adebutu

Adebutu

A governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, said he would contest again in 2023 under the party.

Adebutu also called on those interested to contest against him within the PDP, to get ready for the race.

Adebutu, made this known on Tuesday during the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Unification Meeting held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital.

Adebutu contested for the PDP governorship ticket in the last general election in Ogun State.

He was favoured by the party's National Working Committee, but Sen. Buruji Kashamu clinched the ticket as a result of court rulings in his favour .

The former House of Representatives member said the process of having more aspirants would be good for the party and will equally make the party to progress, boasting that he had done a lot of work to qualify him for the exalted seat.

His words, "I have said it and I am repeating it, and let it be clear, I have done a lot of work. I have ambition, but I expect anybody else to contest so that we can have the best. 

"Anybody desirous of any position, desirous of you being the Governor as Candidate in Ogun State, I appeal to you, please step forward and compete with me, let more people come out and compete. It is good for the party, when more people compete, we shall have constructive competition. Of course, the party should be lubricated. 

"When I give you chicken, another aspirant will give you rice, another person will give you pepper.

"Let people have the courage to compete. What we did in the past that has attracted many to what we are doing today is that we are free and candid with people."

Adebutu also welcomed decampees from other political parties in the state, saying "I welcome all those who returned to the fold, I can assure you, have no fear, the system will be free, fair and equitable".

While apologising to party members for the mistakes of the past, Adebutu  urged them to get united for the purpose of the party and for the development of the country.

"We need to get united for several reasons. The first and foremost is to have a country, Nigeria. We must have viable democracy, without democracy we cannot have a successful country. As it is today, we are in the opposition party and we must be responsible and be available. We have a duty to this nation. If we don't have a nation, how many of us are prepared to be refugees ?

"We have been misgoverned for the last few years and we have to return Nigeria to sanity.

The Party's National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, in his speech, commended the efforts of the State Chapter of the party towards unifying the members of the party, adding "we were divided and you know that divided we cannot stand, but united we can stand.

Speaking further, Secondus said, "we are very pleased with your actions today, that all our members who had left to other political parties had now agreed to come together and form that united party that can withstand all various and that can move forward and win election anytime they would come"

"For how long can we be oppressed, or how long can we be intimated, for how long can we starved, for how long can we continue to kill ourselves? 

"There is so much hunger in the land, so much killings in the land; we have never witnessed such before, even when Nigeria passed through the civil war, the number of people that have been killed since the inception of this APC government is so much that you can't place records’.

"Everyday you woke up to hear the killings in Zamfara, the killings in Enugu, the killings across the country, Benue, Taraba, Ogun State, other States, there is no State in Nigeria today that there has not had records of killings and suicide, all because of bad governance.

"We must rise and unite ourselves because we are all democrats. The entire world is watching.