Ganduje also noted that if APC wins the Edo guber election, his party will have 21 states out of the 36 states of the federation
By Kehinde Okeowo
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, has bragged that his party will add Edo State to the list of states being governed by his political party after the September 21 governorship elections in the state.
He made this known on Thursday in Abuja while addressing members of the Kano Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in his office.
According to him, APC is poised to recapture Edo State once again after losing the state to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to “internal wranglings”.
“Edo, which is coming on the 21st of September, I believe our campaign is in high spirits. We are getting ready for that election, and we believe we will be able to recover our state because it was an APC state, but due to internal wranglings, we lost it to the PDP. However, we are sure we will recover that state.” Ganduje said.
He added, “As for Ondo State, it’s already an APC state, and after the former governor died with a number of problems, we were able to resolve those issues. We conducted primaries and succeeded in getting the person that they want.”
The APC chairman further said if his party wins the Edo State guber election in September, it would have 21 states of the 36 states of the federation, adding that the ruling party is also ready to take Anambra State from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2025.
“We are also getting ready for that election, which is coming up in November. If we win Edo, we will be getting an additional state for the party, bringing it to 21 states out of 36. Next year, there will be Anambra, which has been a state governed by APGA for many years, but we have introduced a new scheme.” he also said.
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Ganduje also explained that the North and Southeast geopolitical zones are both claiming that they have been marginalized, but “what we are telling them is that this marginalization has been self-created. How can you have five states ruled by four political parties? What will be your political bargain?”
“So, we have introduced a new phenomenon which we call the political marginalization of the Southeast geopolitical zone, where we are working very hard to ensure that we get more states from that zone, and we want to start with Anambra.
“Already, we have Ebonyi and Imo states; now we are encroaching into that zone to ensure that we capture most of the states. And if we get what we want, we will capture all the states.”
Ganduje expressed concern that political parties in developing countries like Nigeria are usually active only during campaigns, but that is not how it should be. “So, when we came in, we said we must change the narrative. Our political party—APC, as an institution—wants to be active throughout the year. That is why we directed our offices, chapters at the ward level, to ensure that all our offices are renovated, become habitable, and also become operational.”
“That is only possible when they create activities that will be taking place at the party offices, right from the ward level to the local government level, down to the state level. That is one; we always encourage internal democracy so that we reduce tension and factions within the party.”
“Even though you may have incidents here and there, when we have internal democracy, you will find that there is more understanding and hope, especially when you are facing an election.
“It is very important to have a connection between those in office and those who are handling the affairs of the party. That is, if you are talking about the governors, they need to have a close relationship with the party’s structure at the state level, and the same applies at the national level. So, we normally invite our officials from the state level, give them some information, and educate them on issues like internal democracy.”
