A group of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State known as Osun Progressives, TOP, has raised an alarm, alleging that the key stakeholders have been excluded from the ward Congress commencing nationwide on Saturday.
The group alleged that the national Secretariat officers sent to Osogbo to conduct the congress exercise were hijacked, ambushed and kept from being accessed by other stakeholders in the party.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the Chairman of the APC Progressives group, Adelowo Adebiyi, drew the attention of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s committee to the “ungracious insults been passed on democratic tenets by the Governor Oyetola’s group, IleriOluwa and indeed the intelligence of party members in Osun.
“We remind you that there hasn’t been any sign that the Osun APC has preparation of any sort for the Congress.
“We also put on record that you have assisted us to use press release wherein we reported that the national Secretariat officers sent to Osogbo were hijacked, ambushed and kept from being accessed by other stakeholders in the party. And by inference, did not sell a single form to all other interested parties within the APC.
“When the Osun Progressives (TOP) get to it’s wits end in getting the forms from those sent from Abuja, we procured the forms directly from the National Secretariat by substituted means.
“Hitherto, the Governor’s group, IleriOluwa had boasted all over the places that it was going to have a consensus of returning all members of the outgoing executives.
“As a matter of fact, they were going to have the assumed consensus arrangement yesterday only for them to bitterly learn that we have gotten forms.
“They hurriedly canceled the elaborate arrangements they made to announce the incorrigible consensus.
“Our observation is that they are scared of contests since they know that the current leadership has mismanaged the party to the present extent.
“They know that they are incapable of winning popular votes in fair and free contest hence the employment of tactics to have a hitch-free democratic Congress held.
“Were they to be popular and have the capacity to win, why did they hijack the national Secretariat officers and held them incommunicado since they arrived the state?
“We have it on good authority that the Ward Congress Committee appointed by the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning committee arrived Osogbo this morning. They are said to have been in the Government House with Governor Gboyega Oyetola since.
“They are circumventing the popular rule of democratic engagement by not allowing the committees to interact with stakeholders in consequence with how things will go tomorrow. But like it happened to the earlier delegation in sales of forms, no party member is in the know of anything.
“We note that consensus which they desired is no stranger to us as true Progressives but its definition is not that a viewpoint of one of many stakeholders will be taken that of everyone.
“Consensus is an agreement which is a product of discussion among stakeholders. Nobody claps with one hand. APC is a political party that emerged as an aggregation of different interests and viewpoints. No one can force his/her views on others.
“We at the Osun Progressives (TOP) will not accept that. It is in this regard that we once more draw the attention of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s committee to the ungracious insults been passed on democratic tenets by Governor Oyetola’s group, IleriOluwa and indeed the intelligence of party members in Osun.
“We hope the Ward Congress committee members just arriving Osogbo are pious of sterling character who exercise fairness to all stakeholders within the party.
“Having come this far, we state in categorical terms that we are ready for contest tomorrow if there will be fairness and justice.
May God bless our party to be able to regain its waning strength and go back to its election-winning streak in this Congress.”
