Don’t be discouraged by postponement of polls, Osinbajo tells Nigerians

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday urged Nigerians not to be discouraged by the earlier postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The vice president made the plea in Ilorin during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

Our correspondent reports the vice president was in Ilorin to conclude the door-to-door campaign to mobilise votes for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osinbajo said that the only way Nigerians could assist to sustain the nation’s democracy and promote good governance was to come out en mass on Saturday and vote for continuity.

He commended the monarch for his fairness toward political parties and their candidates in the state.

The vice president said he did not envy the monarch who “has his sons vying for different positions across different parties in Kwara.’’

The vice president prayed for the victory of the president and all All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the general elections.

The emir, in his remarks, welcomed the vice president and wished him and his entourage well in the elections.

Our correspondent reports that the vice president was accompanied by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who is the leader of APC in Kwara.

Also on the entourage were the governorship candidate of the APC in Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the party’s chairman in the state, Bashir Bolarinwa, and other party stalwarts.

It was also reported that the vice president and his entourage were welcomed by an unprecedented crowd who thronged the streets leading to the palace and were chanting ”O to ge’ (Enough is Enough).

From Adabata to Pakata and on to Isale-Aluko as well as Oja Gboro and Ipata, the people in their thousands, particularly women and youths, lined up on the streets with brooms chanting that they were tired of the old order and in need of a change in Kwara.

Moshood Mustapha, the APC leader in Alanamu Ward, told the vice president that the ward is the largest in Kwara Central Senatorial Zone.

He said the people would cast their vote for Buhari, APC senatorial candidate, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, as well as other candidates of the party.

It was reported that the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, is also seeking re-election to the Senate from the zone on the platform of the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party.

Mustapha said that Kwarans and the people in the senatorial zone in particular were tired of the Saraki dynasty, insisting that it had impoverished the state.