Amosun, Isiaka in verbal war

Governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Prince Gboyega Isiaka and Governor Ibikunle Amosun, on Tuesday engaged in a war of words over who will win Saturday’s election.
Isiaka accused Amosun of planning to rig the election and that “the change mantra that happened in Abuja on March 28” will also sweep Amosun away in the Gateway State.
But Amosun said it was not necessary for the APC to rig the election as Ogun voters have decided to vote for continuity.
Speaking on Amosun’s behalf, APC Publicity Secretary, Sola Lawal, described Isiaka’s allegation as “a product of frustration.”
He said: “By now, the nation has grown accustomed to blackmail of the APC and the electoral body by PDP, which, prior to the presidential election, crudely painted the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, a criminal.
“In the same way, the Jega-bashing did not prevent the PDP from the electoral humiliation it suffered in the presidential election. This latest scrabbling of Ogun PDP would lead to their demise at the polls.”
Lawal said the APC would go into the poll with mouth-watering credentials of performance by the Amosun administration, including unprecedented infrastructural revolution, monumental security achievements and legendary mass appeal, among others.
But Isiaka maintained that the victory of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari would not have bandwagon effect in Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Isiaka, who spoke after visiting the Olota of Ota, Oba Moshood Alani Oyede, said: “Buhari rode to victory on the strength of agitation for change. Such call for change will also sweep the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) out of power in Ogun State.
“Buhari came to power on the strength of people calling for a change and I think that change is what the people of Ogun State are calling for now. So, if anything happens, I think it just basically strengthened me to the extent that people know what they want and what the people of Ogun State want now is an end to the kind of government that we have in the state.
“There are all manners of rumour that the APC is planning to rig the elections. Behind every of this rumour, there could be elements of truth. We have shouted and at the same time, we are asking our agents and our supporters all over the state to be very vigilant and make sure that their votes are protected.‎
“There is going to be a government of the people, government that looks at the people’s need and address the people’s need and not a government that just basically does things according to its own whims.
“We have demonstrated in the past and we want to continue along that line. We have known our people’s needs. We are going to ensure that we address it within the limit of our resources and manage the resources of the state very well to the benefit of the people both now and in the future.”