The governor-elect of Ogun State, Adedapo Abiodun, has said his victory at the polls shows that God is greater than man.
He spoke in apparent reference to the opposition of the incumbent state Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, who openly supported and campaigned for the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Adekunle Akinlade.
The Independent National Electoral Commission Returning Officer, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, had on Monday declared Abiodun winner of the governorship polls in Ogun State, saying the APC candidate polled 241,670 votes to defeat the candidate of the APM, Adekunle Akinlade, who scored 222,153 votes, leaving a margin of 19,517 votes.
Olayinka, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, said the APC won in 11 of the 20 Local Government Areas in the state, while the APM had six LGAs.
Abiodun, during a press conference at his country home in Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, accepted the victory, promising to be governor for all.
“I think a lot of lessons have been learnt from this experience. It has indeed been a journey. But I have since learnt that if you remain humble, resilient, have fortitude and keep hope alive, you can overcome any mountain. I have said it at different opportunities that this was an opportunity for God to show that he is indeed greater than man,” he said while fielding questions from journalists.
The governor-elect, who stressed that he was not angry with Amosun, said he won the election because he refused to resort to verbal attacks against the incumbent governor during electioneering.
Asked if he would probe the outgoing government, Abiodun said such was premature as there were more important things he first needed to pay attention to.
He said he planned to hit the ground running with public-private partnerships that would improve the lives of residents of the state and better the economy.
The incoming governor explained that the support from a former governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel, was reciprocal, saying there were no strings attached.
“I believe that our people in Ogun East felt that they had to produce the next governor and as things evolved, everybody began to align. Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) is a former governor of this state and he is from Ogun East. I am sure you must have seen a photo taken in 2002/2003 which is making the rounds now. It shows OGD, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and me campaigning right after the party primaries, which OGD won and I was the running up.
“It was the third day after the primaries that we hit the roads to campaign. So, there has always been a relationship between us. I believe that OGD felt that having supported him with all I have, including my followers, the least he could do was to throw his weight behind what we are doing,” he said.
Thousands of party supporters and leaders have since converged on Abiodun’s house to celebrate his victory.
The governorship candidate of the PDP, Buruji Kashamu, who had earlier conceded defeat, also paid a courtesy visit to Abiodun.
