A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti State, Dr. Segun Osinkolu has warned ‘gladiators’ in the party to approach the national convention and the Ekiti 2022 governorship election with open minds and not with desperation.

Osinkolu, the Director General of Buhari/Osinbajo campaign Council in Ekiti in the 2019 presidential election, advised the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary National Convention Committee, to be fair to all interested aspirants for party positions in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

In the same vein, Osinkolu stated that those expecting that the party would approach the 2022 Ekiti governorship election with a divided house would be disappointed, exuding confidence that all contrasting interests would be harmonized by leaders before the poll.

Osinkolu gave the warning in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday while commemorating his 56th birthday ceremony.

He said the party must resort to the civility that ushered in the more cohesive leaderships of Chiefs Bisi Akande and John Odigie-Oyegun, which he said brought stability and the political strength leading to the defeat of Dr Goodluck Jonathan by President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015.

“With the signal we are seeing, people can be desperate for party positions as manifested in how the leadership of Com. Adams Oshiomhole got abruptly terminated before the deft intervention of President Buhari in the whole saga.

“To forestall this, Governor Buni-led Caretaker Committee must tread softly. It must not arm-twist any aspirant. It must be seen to be fair and just to all sides to avert cataclysm that may consume APC.

“This party was founded on the rocky pedestal of trust and faith, and we have to sustain this for us to survive beyond 2023.

“Many people had said that President Buhari leaving in 2023 would mark the end of APC, but I hold that unwavering belief that we can survive after President Buhari’s exit, if those saddled with leadership responsibilities are fair, honest, just and faithful to all contending forces”.

On the 2022 governorship election in Ekiti, Osinkolu said he believed that all issues surrounding contest for leadership positions and others, would be resolved for the party to continue to dominate the state’s political space.

“Our leaders in Ekiti must be cautious of their actions and subject themselves to whatever the people want and stop being desperate about governorship ticket, this remains the only way we won’t step on the banana peels.

“Though, we have some challenges based on disagreement on how appointments were made, how party positions went, but those issues are being addressed. We could all see that the Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi has been appointing people across board and this, I think will douse the raging tension.

“Despite this, I am optimistic that we will survive and win that impending governorship election, because our people didn’t want a repeat of 2014 when we lost due to irreconcilable differences among ourselves among other issues that dogged that election”.

Daily Post Nigeria