Following the landslide victory of Hon. Ismail Kayode Tijani on the last Friday APC Primary election for Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency, held at Idofian, well wishers, party leaders and supporters of the victorious aspirant in the primary election trooped out en masse to give him a rousing welcome.
FACTUAL NAIJA NEWS learnt that the ecstatic crowd formed an unparalleled and unending motorcade from Oyun River bridge at the outskirt of Ijagbo, spanning through the entire length of Offa all the way to the ancient city of his ancestral home in Erin-ile.
Many of the jubilant crowd, chanting "Sai-Ramoni! Sai Tijani" were reportedly seen on various form of vehicles and motorcycles, while many others were seen either trekking or jogging without showing any sign of fatigue all through the trip.
Hon. Ismail Kayode Tijani was well received in Erin-ile by the obviously overwhelmed monarch, the Elerin of Erin-ile and the Elerin-in-Council.
While welcoming Hon. Tijani home, HRM Oba AbdulGaniyu Ajibola Ibrahim (MFR), Olusookun II, the Elerin of Erin-ile said,
"You are welcome back home with the party ticket, my son. You have done us proud in the past, you have done us proud again and we are convinced that you will continue to do us proud at all times.We will continue to do everything possible to rally round our supports for you and for the government of Mal. AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, so that Kwara State will continue to witness many more development in future".
Thereafter, Hon. Tijani received royal blessings from HRM ELERIN of ERIN ILE, while admonishing him to mend fence with his co-contestants and any aggrieved person.
While speaking, Hon. Tijani used the occasion to thank the Royal Father and the entire people of Erin-ile for their support at all times.
He was profuse in his appreciation for party members and leaders in Offa, Oyun and Ifelodun, especially for their steadfast and resoluteness in standing by his freely given mandate.
Furthermore, he thanked and congratulated the leadership of Kwara APC, under indefatigable Prince Sunday Adeniran Fagbemi for the successes recorded during the just concluded party primaries in the state.
"We have the collective mandate to continue to give Kwarans the best of democratic dividends. Our leader and governor, His Excellency, Mal. AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq has taken the lead in this regards. The onus lies on all of us flying the party flags to continue to rally round our governor and follow his leadership precedence. As party members and leaders, the task of mobilizing the electorates ahead of the 2023 General Election has commenced. We must all put our hands on the deck to ensure all round victories for APC at the polls", he said.
On the arduous task of uniting the party, Hon. Tijani said he has commenced credible efforts to reach out to other co-contestants who participated and lost at the primary.
He commended their gallantry and further stretched forth his hands of fellowship to them.
According to him, "we have a state to build, we have a party to strengthen and the tasks ahead are onerous. We should leave behind the pains of the past and concentrate on the gains ahead. There is no winner and there is no vanquished. We are all victorious in this political chess game."
Meanwhile, FACTUAL NAIJA NEWS recalls that following the arrays of fake results which trailed the APC Primary elections on various social media platforms, the state chapter of the party had cautioned against release of election results by unauthorized persons.
The party, in a statement on Saturday by the State Publicity Scribe, Alh. Tajudeen Aro Folaranmi, stated that "only the officiating officials for the party primaries from the National Secretariat can authoritatively confirm the results of the primary elections conducted, adding that no amount of resorts to self help by prematurely and falsely announcing the results can change the results, stressing that the official results would be communicated at the appropriate time.
"The Kwara State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC dissociates itself from the announcement of results on the various media, and we urge party faithfuls and public to disregard it, the party stated."