“WHY WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO FAIL” .. Akinlade.

The PDP Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2023 Ogun State Gubernatorial Election, Hon. Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade while reacting to the state election petition tribunal judgement delivered in favor of Gov. Dapo Abiodun on the 30th of September 2023, said that, “as a people and party, we must take solace in three fact’s, first, that the Tribunal is the court of first instance, secondly, that we are blessed with a resolute leader and lastly, that time, which is the determinant of all things, is on our side”.

Hon. Akinlade who contested against the incumbent Governor in 2019, further stated that every bruise must be treated as a mark for improvement. He said that according the the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, it is not how many times a man falls or fail that matters, but his ability to raise each time, learn from his mistakes and forge ahead.

He admonished the PDP party faithful and people of Ogun State to see this judgement as a temporary setback. He said that as a people, we understood from the beginning that this was not going to be a tea-party considering the set of individuals we were engaging.

In 2022, they threw everything they had at us, got our candidates and party (PDP) removed from INEC list with the intention of stopping us from participating in the 2023 general elections, they went to town saying that there was no opposition in Ogun State, but we turned to God, fought courageously and the courts reinstated us. Fast forward to March 2023, they arrested our members, blackmailed and threatened our leader, but we prevailed at the polls.

Against all odds and intents, we pushed through the obstacles placed before us and called 94 witnesses including experts, presented over 200,000 certified documents in evidence, argued our case before the election petition tribunal efficiently. We said it from inception that the alleged issue of vote buying was nothing than a ploy to distract us and the panel “mercifully” ruled that in our favor yesterday 30th September 2023.

As we commence the process of filling our notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, we assure our teaming supporters and the good people of Ogun State that we will not relent in our resolve to get justice and the we will explore and deploy a every resources at our disposal to right this injustice in the collective interest of our dear State.

On behalf of our leader and gubernatorial candidate, Hon. Dr. Oladipo Olatunde Adebutu, the chairman of our great party in Ogun State, Alh. Dr. Sikirula Ogundele Phd, executives of the party, leaders, elders and party faithful, I say a very big thank you to all of you for believing that we can and will rescue Ogun State from this strangulating grip.

This is the more reason why we can not afford to fail.

Azeez Adelani
Media aide to
Hon. Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade.
01-10-2023