The gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has countered suggestions by the state government that his party’s campaign slogan, “Otoge” (enough is enough) could spark political unrest or suspicions in the state.
AbdulRazaq, insisted that the campaign slogan was properly vetted and approved by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) which, he reminded, was the only statutory and non-partisan body that should do so.
The APC guber choice insisted that his party’s “OTOGE” slogan simply meant that Kwara people have had enough and are desirous of change through the ballot box; even as he added that the government was only jittery and trying to crackdown on the opposition.
“We are surprised and disappointed at the action of the Kwara State Government and Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency, KWASAA, over their threat to pull down our billboards and campaign banners or posters that have this slogan.
“If, despite their underwhelming performance in the past 14 years, the Kwara State Government and its patrons do not find their slogan of ‘continuity’ as contemptuous, provocative and utterly insulting to the people of Kwara State, it is quite annoying for them to complain that the opposition is saying #Otoge and calling for a change.
“We totally reject Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s hypocritical statement of Friday, December 7, in which he claimed that our campaign slogan was capable of pitching people against one another.
“We also reject KWASAA’s claim that complaints have come from the Emir of Ilorin’s palace regarding the slogan. These are cheap lies with which our people are not only familiar but are totally fed up!
“We urge the Kwara State Government and its agencies to face governance, stop their boring propaganda and face the unavoidable prospect of being voted out of office in March 2019, God willing.
“Contrary to the sheer red-herring by the governor, we are in a better position to advise the Kwara State Government and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to please embrace peace, to live and let live.
“We urge independent government agencies of the Federal Government, including APCON, police, the department of state security, to continue to be apolitical and professional in their dealing with politicians” AbdulRazaq admonished.
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He also noted that APC’s campaign had been very peaceful, orderly and issues-based since it kicked off; promising that it would continue to be so.
He, therefore, urged party supporters to eschew every form of violence or disorderly conduct even in the face of unprovoked attempts to cage the opposition.
“We believe that our people have seen enough of deprivations, mediocre governance and mismanagement of public resources to say it loud and clear that enough is enough. OTOGE!”, he concluded.
