Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and Osun APC governorship primaries chairman on Saturday said the peaceful conduct and massive turnout of members at the All Progressives Congress governorship primaries in Osun underscore the popularity of the party in the state.

He commended all the aspirants, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Lasun Yusuf, and former Secretary to the State Government Moshood Adeoti — and party leaders and members for working for peace in the state.

AbdulRazaq said the large turnout for the exercise showed that the party is alive and strong in Osun — a feat he linked to the great performance of APC governments over the years, including the consolidation of that success by the incumbent administration of Oyetola.

“If you open the pages of newspapers today, what was painted was a picture of war in Osun. But the primaries election has been so peaceful,” the governor told reporters in Iragbiji town of Boripe local government area of the state when he led the committee to monitor the exercise

“I congratulate the people of Osun State, all the aspirants, and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). What is happening here shows that the party is alive and strong. You can see that from the huge turnout.”

Also at Ilobu, in Irepodun local government area of Osun State, AbdulRazaq attributed the massive turnout to the dividends of democracy enjoyed by the people of the state from the successive progressive administrations.

“The important thing for us is the peaceful process. From what I have seen, APC has done very well in this state beyond the primaries. We have come to Osun State and we have seen the level of infrastructural development. Former Governor Rauf Aregbesola did well and Governor Gboyega Oyetola has built on it massively.

“What is going on here is a process to select our candidate for the next governorship election. The election has been peaceful and this has to do with the dividends of democracy the people of Osun have enjoyed.

“I congratulate the party for presenting progressive administrations in the state. We are proud of the work the party has done in the state.”

Monitoring and field reports from across the state show massive turnouts of people and peaceful and orderly conduct of the exercise, which was monitored by party and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials.

Collation of results is due to begin later Saturday evening at the state headquarters of the APC in the state