The Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Osun State, Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, has berated the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, for saying his party is ready to capture Osun and Oyo states.

Odeyemi said such a statement was not expected from an elder statesman who was aware of the hardship being faced by Nigerians under the headship of his party.

Ganduje was reported to have spoken about his party’s readiness to capture Osun and Oyo States while reacting to the election victory of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State.

He said: “Our next target now is this geopolitical zone, the southwest geopolitical zone. Our next target. And you know we are good at getting the target. That is Osun state and Oyo state.

“We assure you, we will do all that is possible to bring them into the fold so that we would have a political homogeneity in the south – west geopolitical zone”.

Expressing his concerns over Ganduje’s statement, Odeyemi said: “In a free and fair contest, nobody would have voted for APC in Ondo State, but because the party had intentionally impoverished the masses, vote buying became an order of the day”.

The NNPP chairman queried why it was difficult for Ganduje to capture his own state, Kano, during the last gubernatorial election if truly he felt Nigerians are with his party.

He said: “One would ordinarily expect that Ganduje should have learnt an act of communication in commensurate with the position he is presently occupying.

‘With the economic quagmire being faced by Nigerians now, who would have voted for APC intentionally? Ganduje should not be carried away by the euphoria of what happened in Ondo State.

“Osun people are wise. We are peaceful here. Each party should allow voters to make their choice. Ganduje should not turn South West into a war zone. Spoken words are powerful, 2026 must be without any crisis in Osun State.”