Ex-Labour Party campaign council South West coordinator Ebiseni joins APC
By Julius Alabi, Akure
A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) and South-West Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council of Peter Obi in the 2023 general elections, Chief Sola Ebiseni, has declared his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid and announced his decision to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ebiseni, who is the Secretary-General of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, made the declaration when he led thousands of his supporters to a meeting with Ondo State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, at the Government House, Akure.
The meeting was also attended by the Ondo State APC Chairman, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde.
Ebiseni said his decision to support Tinubu’s second-term bid was based on what he described as the need for political stability, continuity and the consolidation of ongoing socio-economic reforms in the country.
He said he and his supporters were prepared to join what he described as the majority of Nigerians in working for the re-election of the President in the 2027 general elections.
“First and foremost, and for the avoidance of any doubt, our declaration today for the President’s second term is in tandem with the views of most Nigerians and political gladiators that the office of the President should still be in southern Nigeria in the interest of the political stability of the federation,” Ebiseni said.
According to him, although Tinubu is not the only presidential aspirant from the South, the President has already established his policies and programmes, which he argued could be consolidated in a second term.
He maintained that continuity would enable the administration to achieve the desired results from policies already initiated, rather than starting afresh with a new administration and new policies.
Ebiseni particularly defended the removal of fuel subsidy, saying that the policy had been promised by major presidential candidates during the 2023 elections.
“Whatever anyone may say about the removal of subsidy which all frontline presidential candidates promised in 2023, its retention would have spelt doom, particularly for the states which were already lying prostrate in the discharge of their responsibilities to the citizens,” he said.
The former Labour Party chieftain also said Tinubu required another term to enable some of the administration’s socio-economic and security policies to mature.
He cited the proposed establishment of state police and the increase in the number of Nigerian Army divisions from eight to 12 as measures which, according to him, could contribute to improving security and the welfare of Nigerians.
On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Ebiseni described the project as particularly significant to the people of the coastal communities of Ilaje in Ondo State.
“Politics is local and as a leader of my Ilaje coastal people of Ondo State, this road is the most significant life-changing project for us and I am here to join President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for its full implementation, particularly its proper coastal alignment in the state,” he said.
Ebiseni added that the expected benefits of the coastal highway informed his decision to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
“To us therefore, whom much is given by the President, much more is expected in terms of support for his re-election,” he said.
Responding, Governor Aiyedatiwa assured Ebiseni and his supporters of full integration into the APC campaign structure ahead of the forthcoming elections.
The governor said Ebiseni’s extensive political experience, including his tenure as chairman of the old Ilaje-Ese-Odo Local Government and his service as a commissioner in the state on several occasions, would add value to the APC’s campaign.
Aiyedatiwa also identified Ebiseni’s role as Secretary-General of Afenifere and his activities in other socio-cultural organisations as an advantage that could strengthen the party’s mobilisation efforts.
“We know you as one of our leaders in the state and your political activities across the state and your roles in Afenifere and other socio-cultural organisations in the country will be an added advantage and value to the tasks ahead of us,” the governor said.
The governor said Ebiseni and his supporters would be fully integrated into the APC campaign structure for the various elections.
He explained that the presence of the state APC chairman at the meeting was to underscore the party’s readiness to work with Ebiseni and his supporters and ensure their appropriate integration into the campaign machinery.
