The quote, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happeneth to them all,” ~ Ecclesiastes 9:11.

My deepest and most sincere gratitude goes to the entire leadership and membership of the Oyo State All Progressives Congress, ably led by Alhaji (Pharm) Olayide Abass; the Ibadan North Local Government Chapter of our great party under the leadership of Alh Taofik Olayiwola; and the Bye-Election Campaign Council and its various committees, under the leadership of Rt Hon. Akin Alabi.

Simultaneously, I am grateful to the national leadership of our great party, Mr President, the Honourable Minister of Power, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, distinguished and honourable members of the National Assembly, and many other leaders, too numerous to mention.

I thank my family, elders of my great city, Ibadan land, community leaders, religious groups and several stakeholders who dedicated their time, talent and other necessary resources to my aspiration and candidacy to represent Ibadan North Federal Constituency in the National Assembly.

Your unwavering dedication, tireless efforts, and unrelenting passion were the driving force behind our campaign.

From the grassroots mobilisation to the strategic campaign planning, every aspect of our campaign was executed with the zeal to win. Your commitment to our cause and your loyalty to our great party, the APC, have not gone unnoticed.

Even though the election was lost, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you, from the campaign chairmen to the committed members, for your invaluable contributions. I salute your hard work, late nights, and early mornings, which have not paid off, by our electoral loss. I, however, acknowledge the great sacrifice we all have made in the race.

Particularly, I cannot but pay tribute to all the aspirants, who ran a great race for the coveted position. Ultimately, God, as the decider of all things, gives power and position to whosoever He chooses.

As we rely on God and you, our people, to come over our electoral loss, may God bless and reward you abundantly, and may we continue to work together to build a brighter future for our party, constituency, our dear state, and our great nation, Nigeria. So, help us, God.

Conclusively, this episode is just a bend and never the end. In the meantime, I salute the courage of all patriots who stood by us while the race lasted.

Once again, thank you, and may God bless the APC, the esteemed Ibadan North Federal Constituency and us all!”

Signed:

Hon. (Sir) Adewale “Murphy” Olatunji,
Standardbearer,
All Progressives Congress (APC),
Ibadan North Federal Constituency Byelection – 2025.