FORTY-THREE deregistered political parties in Ondo State, under the auspices of Emerging Political Platform, on Monday, collapsed their structures into the All Progressives Congress and declared their support for the re-election of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
EPP, with over 8,000 executive members from the unit, ward, local goverment and state levels, and over 100,000 members across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, officially joined the APC at a seminar, tagged, “Voters Cultivation For Election Success”, held in Akure, the state capital.
The group, led by Prince Biyi Poroye, was received into the party by the state APC Chairman, who handed over the new intakes to Akeredolu, the leader of the party.
Poroye, who was the State factional Chairman of the PDP during the Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Sheriff leadership tussle, said they were the original third force that worked to unseat Akeredolu before joining the APC.
While describing EPP members as committed followers, Poroye said the group had vowed to mobilise and deliver over 100,000 votes for Akeredolu in the October 10, 2020 governorship poll.
He said, “Before resolving to join APC, we the 43 deregistered political parties have taken our time to assess other candidates contesting against Governor Akeredolu, and after our thorough research, Akeredolu remains the best among them.
“We are orphans; we need a father to father us, and Akeredolu has shown to us that APC remains the best platform that can lead our followers to the promise land.”
The APC state chairman, Adetimehin, lauded the decision of EPP to collapse its structure into the APC, assuring the members that they would never regret joining the party.
Adetimehin said, as at today, Akeredolu remained the only governor in the history of the state, apart from Ajasin, that had attracted industries into the state.
“Apart from Ajasin, our dear state has never had a governor that has the intention to either build or attract industries into the state. Akeredolu has followed the path of Ajasin and with this intention, he is reducing the rate of unemployment in the state,” the state chairman said.
Governor Akeredolu, who said he was fulfilled, described the group as an important cell that was needed in the APC, adding that it must not be destroyed.
The Governor said he was aware of the potentials in the EPP, and assured that the group would be engaged before and during the election.
“We have accepted you wholeheartedly. We are now one in APC. Poroye and his group will be useful to us because we know your capabilities. Although EPP has joined APC, but the group remains a cell that must not be destroyed. This is an important cell that we need in the APC and there must be a way to maintain this cell,” Akeredolu stated.
