Ondo State governor-elect, Rotimi Akeredolu, has said he did not acknowledge a national leader of the All APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in his victory speech because it was not expedient to do so.
He said having acknowledged President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the recognised national leader of the party, and the National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, it was safe to infer that he had acknowledged all the party’s leaders.
Akeredolu said this while answering State House correspondents’ questions shortly after he and his deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, met Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
They were led to the meeting, which was their first after their victory, by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council in Ondo State, Governor Simon Lalong.
The governor-elect, who said the relationship between him and Tinubu was cordial, explained that mentioning the name of Asiwaju specifically would have amounted to him mentioning the names of about 37 other leaders of the party.
He said, “On the names that were mentioned in my speech when expressing gratitude and that I didn’t specifically thank Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I thanked the President and the leader of our party profusely for the leadership which he showed leading to this election.
“I also thanked our indefatigable chairman for standing by the truth and for his position on this matter that led to this election. I have no reason to do otherwise.
“Party structure, to the best of my knowledge, is very clear. You have the leadership of the party and that is represented by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
“After an election, a chief executive emerges, he becomes a leader of the party, you don’t have to personalise and be looking for leaders all over the place."
