The Deputy Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Duro Meseko, has said the party will not do anything to stampede free and fair elections in the 2027 polls.
Meseko spoke on Saturday in Odo-Ape, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi West Senatorial District during the Development and Cultural Day celebration.
He also allayed fears of a one-party state, saying that the fact that people are trooping into the APC was because “Nigerian people have resolved to return President Tinubu for the success of his Renewed Hope Agenda, which is delivering good governance to the people. That is what Nigerians see and want—to re-elect President Tinubu and other candidates of the APC.”
He decried insinuations that the APC is foisting a one-party system on the polity, noting that a country with 24 parties cannot be described as a one-party state.
He, however, commended the judiciary for its recent judgment on the ADC, urging the party to go back to the drawing board and resolve its differences.
Meseko, who was the chief host of the cultural day and a former member of the House of Representatives, said, “APC needs strong opposition and would not do anything to stampede free and fair elections.”
Speaking on the cultural day celebration, Meseko noted that the event serves as a reminder that the people are culturally connected to their forefathers, who passed on traditions to them.
He said culture in its raw form is the way of life of the people, which defines who they are, stressing that efforts are being made to ensure those values are passed to the next generations.
The former lawmaker stated that the celebration was aimed at bringing the world to the community in order to showcase its rich values and mores, and assured of continuity for the benefit of society.
He pointed out that the importance of culture to the people of Odo-Ape was to keep them in line with their roots by shunning negative values that impede development and peaceful coexistence.
He said, besides the cultural day celebration, there are other festivals such as Egungun (masquerades), during which songs are used to name and shame those with unwholesome behaviours, who are openly rebuked as a deterrent to others.
“You know what it means to let the world know that we are what we are because of our culture, and that is what we are celebrating. In Odo-Ape, we have the Owe festival. During this festival, it is mainly done at night, where people sing songs to prevent people from misbehaving.
“The community used to have a list of deviants. The folk songs are used to call them out so they feel ashamed of their misdeeds. The masquerades can foretell what will befall the community and provide solutions to it. These traditions are to guide our day-to-day living, and we are determined to pass them to the next generations,” he said.
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