■ Obasanjo absent at zonal rally Ibadan

The capital of Oyo State, stood still for
several hours yesterday as political
heavyweights across various political parties
in the South-West geopolitical zone stormed
the city to endorse President Goodluck Jona­
than for a second term in office.
A total of 1.8million signatures collected from
Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti
States, endorsing the re-election campaign
for Jonathan, were unveiled at the South-
west Zonal Rally organised by the Transfor­
mation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) at the
Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, formerly Liberty
Stadium, Ibadan.
Former Deputy National Chairman (South) of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief
Olabode George, formally presented the
register of the collated signatures to the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
The main bowl of the stadium was filled to
capacity, and it was observed that the people
outside outnumbered those that made it into
the main bowl. The large crowd that attended
the rally reportedly led to a terrible traffic
gridlock at the Liberty Road, Oke-Ado,
Molete, Dugbe, Imalefalafia and other parts of
Ibadan metropolis for several hours.
All speakers at the rally commended
President Jonathan for his transformational
leadership, as well as the completed and
ongoing developmental projects he had
executed in the South-West.
Anyim, who unveiled the register, said: “I am
pleased to announce a total signature of
1.8million. I am under pressure to announce
that South-west had done better than the
South-east.”
The South-west rally was the second in the
series of seven rallies organised by TAN to
mobilise Nigerians to urge President Jona­
than to seek re-election in the 2015 general
elections. The first rally, which was in South-
east, was held at the Ekwueme Square, Awka
in Anambra State on August 16 and a total of
1.6million signatures were collated.
But former President Olusegun Obasanjo and
the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele
Fayose, were absent at the rally. No reason
was given for the absence of Obasanjo, but it
was announced at the rally that Fayose was
absent because of a traditional festival he
must attend in the state. President Goodluck
Jonathan was also not at the rally because
he was on a private visit to Germany.
Key Yoruba personalities in the
transformation programme that graced the
rally included the House Leader, House of
Representatives, Mrs. Mulikat Akande; Depu­
ty Chief Whip in the Senate, Ayoola Agboola;
Chief of Staff to President Jonathan, Gen
Jones Arogboofa (retd); Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr.
Akinwumi Adesina; Minister of Police Affairs,
Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan, Minister of State
for FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide and Minister
of State for Works, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye.
Also in attendance were the former Speaker
of the House of Representatives, Dimeji
Bankole; former Senate Leader, Teslim
Folarin; former governor of Ogun State,
Otunba Gbenga Daniel; former governor of
Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala.
The roll call also included Chief Olabode
George from Lagos State; Senator Iyiola
Omisore and Chief Ebenezer Babatope from
Osun State; Prince Buruji Kashamu from
Ogun State; Chief Olusola Oke and Kingsley
Kuku from Ondo State; Senator Ayo Adeseun,
Mr. Seyi Makinde, Taofeek Arapaja and Alhaji
Lamidi Akinsola (Tokyo) from Oyo State.
Culled: The SUN