Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday said President Bola Tinubu had good tidings for the people of Ondo State.
Shettima urged the people to come out on Saturday to vote for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to reciprocate the love of the President for the state.
The Vice President spoke at the grand finale of the APC campaign for the November 16 gubernatorial election held at the MKO Abiola Democracy Park, Akure, the state capital.
He said: “I’m bringing you glad tidings from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He ought to have been here but the exigencies of the office compelled him to ask the high-level delegation to come and represent him in the Sunshine state.
“On Saturday, I will urge you to come out en masse. The President has good tidings for the people of Ondo State, the people of the Southwest and the people of Nigeria.
“Just last week, he approved the establishment of a university teaching hospital here in Akure. The President deserves double kudos for his empathy.
“Ondo State has two senior ministers. The Minister of Interior is from Ondo and the Minister for Youth Development is from Ondo. To those much is given, much is equally expected.
“I want to thank you for standing in the Sun for hours to wait for us to deliver this address. Honestly, I want to convey our depth of gratitude to you. The President has the highest regards for the people of Ondo.
“You are a state of progressives. Come out and vote for the progressive candidate. Come out en masse. We are winning all the 18 local government areas.
Shettima said no prominent leader of the state, living or dead, would have decided to vote against the APC candidate.
“I want to echo the sentiment earlier expressed by the Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele. If Pa Adekunle Ajasin is to be alive, is he going to vote for APC or for the reactionary elements?
“If my friend, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, is to be alive, is he going to vote for the APC or for the reactionary party?
My friend, Rahman Mimiko, is he going to vote for the APC or for the reactionary party?
“Baba Reuben Fasoranti, is he going to vote for the APC or for the reactionary party? If the late Adebayo Adefarati were to be alive, would he vote for APC or the reactionary elements?,” he asked.
The APC national chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, who handed the party’s flag to Aiyedatiwa, noted that the best choice for the state was the governor.
Ganduje said: “We are here to motivate you. We can see you are motivated. Vote for our candidate. By voting for him, you are voting for continuity.
“He has laid a solid foundation for progress and good governance. Make sure you give us all the 18 local government areas come Saturday. We must vote for political uniformity in the southwest zone.”
The Lagos State Governor and Chairman of APC National Campaign Council for Ondo State Governorship Election, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, appealed to the people not to fight on the Election Day but to come out and thumb print the ruling party.
Governor Aiyedatiwa stated that late Akeredolu would have supported his candidature if the former governor were to be alive.
He said: “Akeredolu declared to the whole world that I would be the one to succeed him. If he is alive today, he would be here to ensure that Ondo remains an APC state.
“You know what we have been able to do in the office. By the time we return in February, we will do more than what we have been able to do now.”