Atiku, Aregbesola, Mark rally voters for ADC ahead of Osun poll

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar; former Osun State Governor and national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola; and the party’s national chairman, Senator David Mark, on Monday rallied voters in the state to support the ADC in Saturday’s governorship election.

The trio spoke at the ADC mega rally held at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, where they urged residents to vote for the party’s governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam.

Atiku, who recalled his previous political campaigns in Osun, said the people of the state had supported him and Governor Ademola Adeleke in previous elections, adding that he had returned to seek their support for the ADC candidate.

He said, “Each time I stood here, you gave me your vote. I cannot forget that. I came here for the current governor, I pleaded with you to support him and you voted for him. I came here on my presidential campaign and you voted for me; you defeated President Bola Tinubu for me. I have come again today to appeal to you to vote ADC, and this is because ADC, I can assure you, is different from APC, Accord and all other parties because the best of Nigerians are today in the ADC.”

Aregbesola, who spoke in Yoruba, dismissed reports that the ADC was in an alliance or negotiating with any political party ahead of the election, insisting that the party was standing on its own.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the party, Senator David Mark, said the party’s leaders were in Osun to celebrate what he described as the anticipated victory the people would give the ADC after Saturday’s election.

Addressing the rally, Salaam promised that an ADC government would prioritise the welfare of women, civil servants and pensioners, while providing free healthcare for children aged one to 18 and pregnant women until delivery.

The ADC governorship candidate urged residents not to be afraid to come out and vote for the party, assuring them that adequate security would be provided to protect voters on election day.