AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY CHIEF TUNDE S. ABOYADE AT A PARLEY WITH CPS’s/SOCIAL MEDIA WRITERS/ BLOGGERS ON WEDNESDAY, 27TH OCTOBER, 2021 AT EGBEDA, LAGOS STATE

It gives me great pleasure to stand before you today. As I welcome you to this parley, I must say that I am glad to finally meet those responsible for reporting the activities of our great party and its members on Social Media/blogs and other various platforms.

The impact of the Press and information especially in this Social Media Age cannot be quantified. The Social Media, a product of the internet has indeed turned the world to a global village where peoples of the world can interact with one another spontaneously without the barriers of space and physical distance as predicted by Canadian Media Theorist, Marshall McLuhan.

The Press often referred to as the fourth estate of the realm is an integral part of a society that can make or break the fortunes of institutions such society. Underlining the importance of the Press (especially a free one) to the society and government, former American President, Thomas Jefferson, believes that a free press plays a great role in keeping government power in check declaring that he'll prefer “newspapers without government” to “government without newspapers. It is also on record that the Rwandan Genocide that killed thousands of Utus and Tutsis was caused by the media.

I commend you for reporting the activities of the party in Alimosho thereby ensuring that APC remains in the public sphere. Your reports have generated public opinion, thus improving the popularity of our party. In as much as I appreciate you for your efforts in Alimosho APC, I must also say that some reports have had a negative impact on the party thereby fanning the embers of disagreement among members.   

As you are all aware, we have a new leadership in APC State Executive and I can assure that the party hierarchy has the interest of all members at heart.  For the past few days as directed by the state APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi and in my position as the state APC Vice Chairman, Lagos West Senatorial District, I have commenced moves to reconcile all the aggrieved members of the party within Alimosho Constituency. I have met with party stakeholders to secure their trust. I will ensure I use every available dispute resolution means to bring everybody back together. Leadership is about trust and I promise to ensure all interests are well taken care of.

At this juncture, I must remind us of the arduous task before us as regards the 2023 elections. As active actors on the political scene, we have all seen the inauguration of different support groups for the 2023 Presidential ambition of our National Leader, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is pointing to the direction that all hands must be on deck to achieve this crucial aim; hence, the need to give peace a chance so that we can all work together in support of the ambition. Alimosho APC must work harmoniously to contribute meaningfully to the ambition to our National Leader. I believe the only way we can do this is allow peace to reign because a house divided against itself cannot stand. As purveyors of information, your positive contributions will go a long way in making Ashiwaju our next President. With happenings in Nigeria's political arena today, it is clear that the leading and most qualified candidate for president in 2023 is "Jagaban". Ashiwaju Tinubu is the face of the South West going into 2023 and I appeal to you all to "calm down" and let's get to work to make Ashiwaju Tinubu the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023. The job at hand now is to unite, roll our sleeves and get to work to; interestingly, members from other political parties such as the People Democratic Party (PDP) are throwing their weight behind Ashiwaju Tinubu's candidacy and the only thing we can do is to ensure that Alimosho Federal Constituency with it's dense population deliver votes for our National Leader's electoral victory in 2023, this is a golden opportunity for the South West to produce the president and you must all use your various platforms and write-ups to make it happen.

As an experienced politician who has been with the party from its Alliance for Democracy (AD) days till the current All Progressives Congress (APC), I can say the fortunes of the party in Alimosho is dwindling due to intra-party scuffles. The number of votes the party usually secure from Alimosho has drastically reduced. I am however optimistic that with the steps I have taken to secure the Goodwill of stakeholders, the party is truly on the path of forgiveness, reconciliation and lasting resolution. 

I appeal to all parties to give peace a chance and allow me deliver on my mandate of reconciling aggrieved party members. I can boldly say that with the steps I have taken and plan to take, you will all begin to see positive results in few weeks’ time. We shall build back better and Alimosho shall be great again.

Crucially, I passionately implore you all to use your various platforms to inform and educate APC members and Alimosho constituents to take part in the ongoing Continuous Voter's Registration (CVR) exercise. It is germane to register and obtain Permanent Voters' Cards (PVCs); your vote is your power and you can only vote with your PVCs. Anyone who wants to take part in the democratic process and enjoy the dividends of democracy must endeavour to register and vote during election. Please encourage APC members and other individuals or groups in your different Wards and LCDAs to seize the opportunity of the CVR programme so as to get registered to be eligible to vote during the next elections.

In conclusion, I beseech you all to eschew animosity and see one another as members of the same political party striving to take your party to greater heights. It is pertinent to forgive and forget all that has happened in the past because if we don't do that, we cannot make progress; to err is human but to forgive is divine.  The APC belongs to all of us and it is our collective responsibility to ensure the party continues to maintain relevance in Alimosho, Lagos West, Lagos State and Nigeria. Let us bury the hatchet and WE SHALL BUILD BACK BETTER AND MAKE ALIMOSHO GREAT AGAIN.

God Bless you all.

Thank you.