As the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress inches closer, the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has denied a report that he has endorsed a particular aspirant to get the ticket of the party.
Akeredolu declared that he had not endorsed any aspirant as contained in the said report, describing it as a falsehood.
He said all he wanted was to ensure the party picks a southerner as its flagbearer.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Richard Olatunde.
According to the statement, the intention of the writer of the report was to drag the governor into “unnecessary declarations, despite public knowledge of his position as the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum.”
The statement read, “Nevertheless, Governor Akeredolu has continued to reiterate the stance of his brother governors in the Southern Nigeria Governors’ Forum on the need for the south to produce the next president of the country in the spirit of equity and fairness.
“In clear terms, the widely circulated statement never emanated from Governor Akeredolu. It was, obviously, driven by overzealous partisan interests calculated to exploit the political capital of the Governor for personal gains.
“We, however, urge members of the public, particularly members of the APC and the party supporters, to disregard the statement as it does not represent the collective decision of the Southern Governors’ Forum which Governor Akeredolu leads.
“Succinctly, Governor Akeredolu as a leader and stakeholder in the Southern Presidency agitation is committed to the interest of the Southern Nigeria geopolitical zone. He will not descend into an arena of partisanship to jeopardise the interest of the forum he leads.”