The big boss of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, said that his team is ready to win back Edo State in the next elections on September 21, 2024.
Ganduje shared, “Edo elections are on the 21st of September. Our team is excited and ready. We lost Edo to the PDP because of some problems within our party, but now we are confident we can win it back.”
While talking to reporters in his office on Thursday, Ganduje explained, “Ondo State is already with us. After the last governor passed away, we solved the issues and picked the person people wanted. We are also getting ready for the November elections there. If we win in Edo, we will have 21 states out of 36. Next year, there’s Anambra. It has been controlled by APGA for a long time, but we have a new plan.”
He explained that both the North and Southeast regions feel ignored, saying, “We tell them that they created this problem for themselves. How can you have five states ruled by four different parties? How will you negotiate politically?”
“We have a new idea called the political inclusion of the Southeast. We are working hard to get more states from that region, starting with Anambra. We already have Ebonyi and Imo states and want to win more.”
Ganduje worries that political parties in countries like Nigeria are only busy during elections, but he thinks this needs to change. “When we took over, we decided to be active all year round. Our party, APC, wants to work all the time. That’s why we told our local offices to be in good shape and operational.”
“This is only possible if we create activities at all party offices, from local levels to state levels. Also, we must encourage democracy within the party to reduce fights and divisions. Even though there might be problems sometimes, internal democracy helps everyone understand and hope, especially before elections.”
“Connecting people in office with the party handlers is crucial. Governors need to have a strong relationship with the party structure at the state level, and the same goes for the national level. We regularly call our state officials, share information, and educate them about internal democracy.”