The city of Ibadan on Sunday literally stood still for the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC) as the erstwhile
parties which made up the party lowered their flags to usher in the new party.
The Mapo Hall venue of the rally was thronged by a mammoth crowd of party faithful from the three defunct parties and the ordinary folks, all dressed in t-shirts specially designed for the new party, holding broom which is the symbol of APC.
Party leaders such as Chief Michael Adeniyi Koleoso, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, Senator Ayo Adeseun, Chief Akin Oke, secretaries and executive members of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were also in attendance.
All the major roads and streets, as well as all the adjoining streets leading to Mapo Hall, were jam-packed, with heavy vehicular and human traffic.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi, while speaking at the rally thanked party leaders and all the progressives who came together to form APC, saying that the birth of the party had signified a red card for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria.
Besides, he said that the coming of APC also signified an end to poverty, corruption, violence and other omen which the ruling PDP represents in the country.
He also congratulated the people of Oyo State for their support and cooperation with his government, stressing that with the coming up of APC, they should expect more development in the state.
Governor Ajimobi urged members of the three merging parties to eschew rancor and bitterness but rather work together to ensure success for the new party in all future elections.
Also speaking, Chief Koleoso, who had recently been reported in the media to have had political issues with the governor, stressed the need for party members to ensure unity and harmony within the party and that they should give maximum support to the Ajimobi administration in order to ensure more dividends of democracy for the state.
He said that the people of the state had not made the mistake voting for Ajimobi in 2011, given his brilliant performance and the all-round development of the state through massive infrastructural revolution and urban renewal programme.
The Acting Chairman of the defunct CPC, Mr. Layi Okanlawon commended the idea behind the rally and said that the APC would be a party to bear.
“CPC is lucky to join the moving train. I believe we are heading towards a huge success. We are moving together as a party. We have experienced people handling the affairs of the APC and we have confidence in them,” he said.
On the issue of some members who issued an earlier release dissociating themselves from the rally, he said the decision was not representative of the generality of the party as other party leaders were not consulted for the boycott of the rally.
The governor of Osun state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, in an interview shortly after the rally said that the entire nation would sooner or later embrace the APC and use it as the tool to sweep away the Peoples Democratic Party and install a purposeful, meaningful and responsible government and leadership for Nigeria.
“The various problems confronting the nation such as lack of water, unemployment, electricity would soon be a thing of the past,” the governor said.
A former commissioner and PDP chieftain, Mr. Morounkola Thomas, who also attended the rally, also commended the APC.
“This is the beginning of the end of Nigeria’s problems. All the problems that have become almost intractable for the present government to solve in Nigeria, there will be an end to such problems with the coming on board of the APC,” he said.