Senate President Bukola Saraki will head an 85-member campaign committee of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming Osun State governorship election.
The committee, made up of all governors under the platform has Eddy Olafeso as secretary.
This will be the first official assignment given to Mr Saraki and three other governors who defected to the party recently.
The governors are Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State.
Speaking during the inauguration, Mr Saraki said aside from the popularity of the PDP candidate in Osun State, “the people were yearning for change to return their state to the PDP”.
He promised that the committee would ensure that the PDP wins the Osun poll.
He said that the election was important because PDP had lost two governorship elections in the South-west (Ekiti and Ondo)
“We must win Osun to prove that Osun is the home ground of the PDP. This is a state where salaries are not being paid,’’ he said.
He added that winning the Osun poll was not just about the state “but to also serve as a momentum for the 2019 general elections.”
Speaking at the inauguration, PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said members of the committee were carefully nominated because of the importance of Osun to the PDP.
He said he believed his party’s candidate was the best for the state, and assured that it would not allow itself to be “rigged out in the election”.
“We will not allow vote-buying in Osun because that is rigging and rigging is corruption. I believe that the international community is watching and all eyes are on this nation,’’ he said.
He also advised security agencies not to allow themselves to be used, reminding them that they had sworn to uphold the constitution, “not an individual or politician.”
Mr Saraki recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP. He also recently declared his intention to run for office of the President of Nigeria.
He defected to the ruling APC in 2014 prior to the general elections where president Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan who contested under the PDP.