The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, made a declaration on Monday, September 23, celebrating the party’s recent victory in Edo State. He expressed confidence that the APC would also retain the governorship seat in Ondo during the upcoming November election.
Speaking at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, Ganduje addressed members of the Edo election situation room and lauded the success of Senator Monday Okpebholo, the party’s candidate. He emphasized that the APC is now focused on replicating this victory in Ondo and is also strategizing to kick out the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra next year.
Ganduje revealed that the party will adopt the same strategies that secured their win in Edo for the upcoming governorship elections in both Ondo and Anambra. He highlighted that winning Anambra would be a significant achievement for the Southeast, bringing the region into greater alignment with APC-led states, similar to Imo and Ebonyi. This, he said, would help address the Southeast’s concerns over political marginalization.
“We have started working to develop strategies to win these states. Next year, Anambra State will follow,” Ganduje announced, adding that the party has a larger mission called the “political demarginalization of the Southeast geo-political zone.” He described this as a critical project for the party, stating that the APC already controls two states in the region, but two are insufficient for a party of APC’s size and influence. He expressed the party’s commitment to expanding its reach in the Southeast and recovering more states in favor of the APC.
Reflecting on the Edo election, Ganduje explained that the APC’s confrontation with Edo’s governor, Godwin Obaseki, was unavoidable due to the governor’s defiant attitude. Obaseki, formerly a member of the APC, had left the party under strained circumstances, leading to a bitter political rivalry.
“This election was unique because we were competing against a sitting governor, one who was once part of our party. We may be children of the same father, but of different mothers. Contests like this are always intense,” Ganduje remarked.
He described the separation with Obaseki as acrimonious, noting that their parting was not amicable but full of conflict. According to Ganduje, this discord made the contest highly competitive, culminating in the APC’s determined efforts to defeat Obaseki and his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Ganduje recalled that Obaseki had declared the election a “do or die affair,” but the APC countered with their own mantra, “do and succeed,” emphasizing that success is more meaningful if lives are not lost in the process. “We fought hard and we won,” he concluded, celebrating the party’s victory as a testament to their resilience and strategy.
