Kunle ADELABU
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) have inaugurated Door-To-Door Campaign Canvassers in Ikorodu division towards ensuring victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential election slated for Saturday February 16,2019.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Deputy Director, Strategic Communications of President Buhari’s Re-Election, performed the inauguration ceremony for the canvassers at the Ikorodu Local Government Secretariat on Sunday, February 10.
The canvassers, who are saddled with the responsibility of meeting directly with the people and convince them to vote for the President, comprised of representatives across the six Local Government and Local Council Development Areas in Ikorodu division .
Hon Abike, in her message to the canvassers, enjoined them to go from door-to-door to sell the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buahri who is seeking re-election as President of Nigeria for another four years.
She appealed to them to work and convince the people not to allow those she referred to as corrupt people to return to power to take the country backward.
Highlighting the achievements of the APC-led federal government, the former federal lawmaker listed improvement in power, infrastructural developments across the country, improved transport system, empowerment programmes, provision of loan and trainings for traders, fighting against corruption and sincere government among many others.
Also speaking at the inauguration, Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, Chairman, Ikorodu Local Government, stated that the coming Presidential election would determine how other elections would go.
“The Presidential election coming up on Saturday, February 16, would be a major determinant of how other elections would go”.
He charged the newly constituted Presidential Canvassers to ensure that they reach as many people as possible by going from door-to-door to canvass people to vote President Buhari and other APC candidates.
Former Secretary to the Ikorodu Local Government, Otunba Saheed Ibikunle, also charged the Canvassers to engage in effective communication with the Electorate.
“You have to go from door-to-door to sell all our candidates to the people. This is the only way to make sure that all the efforts of the party come to fruition.
He stated that people must vote massively for the party to have strong political bargaining power.
“The votes recorded in Ikorodu in 2015 was too small, this time around, we must mobilise our people across the division to come out en mass and vote APC. We must improve on our voting record of 2015.
“We have close to 180,000 people that have collected their PVCs and if we can canvass them effectively , we will have no reason not to record over 100, 000 votes for APC, more so that new polling units have been created.
“Your role as canvassers is to create good image for our party and make people vote for our candidates.
A chieftain of APC in Ikorodu while also speaking at the event, stated that improper way of voting contributed more to the low votes that were record in 2015 in Ikorodu.
“Our people actually voted in 2015 but many ballot papers were voided because many thumbed printed wrongly with their thumbs . Also, some others that thumb printed for APC wrongly handled the ballot papers at the point of dropping them into the ballot boxes and such votes were also voided”.
He, therefore, charged the canvassers to use the sampled ballot papers made by the party to educate the electorate on how to appropriately thumb print and drop their ballot papers into the ballot boxes.
Others present at the ceremony were APC party chairmen and chieftains in Ikorodu among many others.
