The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore, has explained why the party’s standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the February 25 presidential election.
He said the spread of Tinubu‘s votes across the six geo-political zones spoke volumes about his national acceptance and popularity nationwide.
Omisore, a former Osun Deputy Governor, also said the election was free, fair, peaceful, and transparent, dismissing the allegations of malpractices as a russ.
He said it is typical of the losers to cry foul during the periodic election, in a bid to discredit a lawful, legitimate and credible poll.
He stated these while speaking with reporters at the party secretariat in Abuja, shortly after he received a letter of felicitation from Chinese officials on behalf of the party.
The party official wondered why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), whose candidates are crying foul, have remained subjective in their analyses.
Omisore expressed surprise that they turned their eyes from their strongholds, which they won handsomely, only to focus on the vast areas won by the ruling party.
The national secretary said an election where the president, national chairman of party, director-general of campaign and presidential candidate lost their home states cannot be described as a rigged poll.
He maintained that the poll satisfied the criteria of fairness, transparency and credibility, urging the opposition parties to embrace the reality.
He said maturity demanded that those who lost should accept their fate and congratulate the winner in accordance with the peace accord signed by the political parties and candidates.
Omisore said APC owed its victory to party unity, the team spirit, the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, the resilience of the party leadership, the courage of the candidate, determination of party faithful, and collective wish of the majority of Nigerians.
He said why the APC went into the poll as a united party, LP and PDP were in disarray.
Omisore stressed that. ”Everybody knew that people were leaving the PDP. Those five governors who did not leave distanced themselves from their presidential candidate. They went into the election in disunity. How cam they win. Nigerians have spoken.”
The party secretary said other struggling parties should copy the cordial relations that permeated the ruling party, particularly among the party leaders.
Omisore applauded the commitment of the APC governors to zoning and power shift, stressing that it has further strengthened the bond of unity between the North and the South.
He said the move to discredit the successful and peaceful poll will fail because it is erected on propaganda and falsehood by a gang of losers.
Omisore congratulated Tinubu for displaying the noblest examples of courage, hope and determination to succeed, despite the odds.
He said why the PDP candidate thought that he would win because he came from a certain part of the country, he miscalculated.
Omisore also said the poll has also taught Nigeria the big lesson that ethnicity and religion should not determine the outcome of national elections.
He said the results have revealed Tinubu as a unifier and symbol of unity and integration with a mass appeal.
Omisore said Tinubu triumphed based on some factors, urging ambitious members of the political class to study his styles of politics and capacity for building networks.
He added:”Asiwaju was up and doing and he dominated the scenes; the campaigns, from the period preceeding the primaries to the last day if the campaigns. He was the most visible among the presidential candidates. He traversed the nooks and crannies of the country, selling his ideas and plans.
“He had the best, most appealing and captivating blue print. He was not alone. He demonstrated to Nigerians that he would foster inclusion. Look at the campaign council. It was representative of all the segments in the party, ethnic groups, and geo-political zones. It was a string team. He won because majority of Nigerians preferred him. They want him to replicate his feats as governor of Lagos State at the federal level. He will not disappoint Nigerians.”