…Insist petitions were duly submitted to national leadership
…Warn against alleged attempt to impose ‘No Contest’ arrangement
The Ogun East Stakeholders/Leaders Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted a claim credited to members of the Ogun State Ward Congress Appeal Committee that no petition was received regarding the conduct of the recent ward congress in the state.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, the Forum described the claim as “far from the truth,” insisting that formal petitions were duly submitted to the party’s national leadership.
The stakeholders maintained that the Appeal Committee allegedly focused only on what they described as a congress conducted by a faction of the party, while failing to acknowledge what they termed a “peaceful, legitimate and authentic congress” supervised by the Ogun East Stakeholders/Leaders Forum.
According to the statement, the congress they conducted followed statutory procedures publicly advertised by the party’s national leadership.
The group expressed concern that sidelining those guidelines and procedures would amount to disenfranchising thousands of loyal party members who complied with the party’s directives.
They added that many members paid the prescribed statutory fees into the party’s designated accounts to obtain nomination forms and participate in the exercise.
“It is greatly unfair to sidestep these very important guidelines and procedures,” the statement read, noting that members had placed their confidence in the directives of the national leadership.
The Forum further disclosed that petitions were submitted through the Office of the National Chairman of the party and also to the National Reconciliation Committee.
The reconciliation panel, according to the statement, is led by former Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni.
The stakeholders said the petitions conveyed fears and anxieties among party members over the prospective conduct and outcome of the ward congress in Ogun State.
They alleged that the congress reportedly endorsed and referenced by the Appeal Committee was a “fait accompli” allegedly designed to promote a specific agenda within the party.
Such an arrangement, they argued, could be injurious to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda if it seeks to establish a “No Contest” situation in the state chapter.
The Forum clarified that the leadership of the party in Ogun State, vested in the Governor, is not in dispute.
However, they stressed that such leadership should not operate without adequate consultation and broad-based consensus among critical stakeholders.
They called on the national leadership of the party to thoroughly review the matter in order to address what they described as legitimate concerns raised by thousands of party members.
The statement was jointly signed by Gen. Olumuyiwa Okunowo (Rtd); Akogun Kola Onadipe, FNIOB; Giwa Comrade Niyi-Osoba Ph.D; Otunba (Dr.) Korede Okusanya; Princess Ronke Oduneye; Aremo Barr. Babatunde Adesanya; Mrs. Josephine Makanjuola; Dr. Bankole Osisanya; Hon. Wole Olubena; Arc. Abiodun Adesanya; Mr. Dele Osifade; and Alhaja Ganiyat Busari.
The development signals growing tension within the Ogun State chapter of the APC as stakeholders await further clarification from the party’s national leadership on the outcome of the ward congress process.
