…Asks Itsekiris To Vote En Masse For Ex-Lagos Governor As President
By Eseoghene Emuke
The influential Ologbotsere Royal Family of Warri, Delta State, on Sunday held a special traditional prayers for the victory of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ahead of Saturday’s presidential elections.
The family also endorsed the APC presidential candidate and urged all Itsekiris home and outside Delta to massively mobilise their supporters to vote en masse for Tinubu, a former Lagos governor.
Tinubu’s wife, Senator Oluremi hails from the Itsekiri speaking tribe in Delta State.
Speaking on Sunday after the traditional prayer rites at Ubeji in Warri, the head of the Ologbotsere Family and popular businessman, Chief Ayiri Emami, said Tinubu is a Deltan by marriage and the people of the state will hugely benefit from his government.
Chief Ayiri, also a chieftain of the APC, noted that Tinubu understands the pains and sufferings of the Itsekiri thus the need to vote him to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Everybody has their culture and their tradition, we are gathered here today to pray for our son and the presidential candidate of the APC for this coming Saturday’s presidential election. We are also here to endorse him as our preferred candidate.
“I am speaking today that all sons and daughters of Itsekiri should come out en masse on the 25 of February to vote Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu without further consideration because he’s one of us. He’s the only person who really knows our pains. He’s our in-law and one of our own. The Itsekiri has no reason to work against him. Ologbotsere of Warri is the chief messenger of our people”, Chief Ayiri said.
Earlier, speaking on before of the Ologbotsere family, Sir Amorighoye Sunny Mene, had told journalists at a press conference that the family was confident that Tinubu will win the forthcoming polls by a landslide.
Mene, a member of the APC Grassroots Independent Campaign Council for Tinubu/Shettima, explained that the prayer day by the Ologbotsere Family was aimed to invoke God’s grace upon the candidacy of Asiwaju Tinubu ahead of the election.
He called on members of the Ologbotsere family, and indeed, all Nigerians to vote the former Lagos governor as the next president.
Flanked by the Director, Delta South APC Campaign Council, Prince Yemi Emiko, Sir Mene dismissed fears that President Muhammadu Buhari was working against the actualisation of Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
He said, “Today is a very special day being the last Sunday before the 2023 presidential election. Special prayers are being offered all over the country for the success of the elections. The head of the Ologbotsere family, Chief Ayiri Emami, has also deemed it necessary that the Ologbotsere family offers special prayers for the success of the general elections and most particularly for the success of the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Tinubu and Senator Shettima.
“For us as Itsekiri people, Asiwaju Tinubu is one of us, and so, we urging all Itsekiris worldwide to support his candidacy. We are not calling for support for him just because he’s one of us, but he has a track record. He has been tested and proven to be a man of vision. He’s a man, if given the opportunity, he will take Nigeria to the next level.
“Tinubu is not a stranger to Nigerians, he’s a true unifier. When he was governor of Lagos State he appointed people from across the country into his cabinet. He had the Urhobos, Igbos, Hausa and other nationalities in the country in his cabinet. That shows that this man (Tinubu) is a unifier and want a united Nigeria. He has built consensus across the country, and today, the whole country is unanimous on the need to have a man who can build this country. That’s why, we (Ologbotsere) are also praying for Bola Tinubu to be elected as the next Nigeria’s President. With him, the current challenges in the country will be over.”
On his part, the Director of APC Campaign Council, Delta South Senatorial District, Prince Emiko, charged Nigerians to vote for Tinubu, saying the former Lagos governor remains the best amongst those jostling for the seat.
Emiko commended the Ologbotsere family for the endorsement of Tinubu and them to vote for all APC candidates in the forthcoming polls.
