Politics
2023: ‘Don’t destabilize your party’, Oyo APC non-align movement cautions Unity Forum, others
A group, APC Non Align Movement has cautioned the Unity Forum not to constitute itself as agent of destabilization of the unity and progress of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Oyo State.
This was made known in a reaction to the statement issued by the Unity Forum claiming that it was not consulted in the constitution of the zoning committee set up by the Elders’ Advisory Committee ahead of the state congress of the party.
In a release signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Hon. Biodun Jonathan Oladejo and made available to journalists, the group said it was surprised and taken aback by the behaviour and dastard acts of a number of groups within the party on the purported zoning committee put in place by the Party’s Elders Advisory Committee headed by Ex-Governor, Adebayo Alao Akala.
It would be recalled that the nine-man adhoc committee was recently inaugurated to work on the modalities of arranging positions into the three senatorial districts with the aim of having a seamless State Congress scheduled for 16th of October, 2021.
The Adhoc Committee was established with a lifespan to terminate immediately after the zoning is made and popularly accepted.
According to the group, “what is more annoying is that a serving Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who hails from Ogbomoso, the same home state of the Advisory Committee Chairman could be claiming that critical stakeholders were not duly consulted before the decision to inaugurate the adhoc committee was taken while others who are yet to openly associate with the party were consulted.”
“His case must have been that he’s too far from not only the party but his people. The said minister until his appointment never attended any party meeting either in Ogbomoso or the state capital which reflects his indigene-ship by diaspora.
“While the case of the Unity Forum could not be left unattended too, though not a genuine complaint as they claim, two of their leaders were actually listed in the nine-man adhoc committee. The awkward intent of the Unity Forum is to have a sharing formula of 50-50 right from on set as against the Lafia hotel stakeholders generally accepted participation from the ward levels. In this case of State exco congress, what grouse should they have participating in populating a consensus list from their respective zones into the senatorial districts and aggregation at the state? This exercise should make them warm up harmoniously with other recognized stakeholders and elders in their respective zones and senatorial districts. Politics is local.
“The proposal of a 36-man committee as highlighted in their press release could be referred to as a hungry man policy while the various legacy parties that came together as APC and other joiners are more than five in number. How come the Unity Forum which is just a group within the party claims majority and seek 50% sharing formula? Do we need to remind them that they left the party in 2019 and some of them returned after election without winning any polling unit even when they were together? The results of the last general election speak for itself”, the statement said.
It continued, “The nine-man Adhoc committee should as a matter of fact go ahead with the zoning arrangement which should be into senatorial districts ONLY while the stakeholders in each district should work on micro zoning into zones and down to the local government areas. This gives all strata of leadership sense of belonging as the leaders of each LGAs decides on each nominee to zoned positions.
“The committee should also note that their work could be rejected if they go beyond their terms of reference and they must be time conscious as we do not have the luxury of time.
The group also implored the Unity forum and other similar groups to move into their constituencies and work in consensus arrangement as the wish of the party in each Local Government Area because there can never be any percentage sharing formula. Enough is enough, we move”, the statement concluded.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
-
Politics1 day ago2027: Oyo APC Set for Credible Direct Primaries, Says Alake Adeyemo
-
News1 week agoTCN plans power outage in Ibadan over substation maintenance
-
News5 days agoTegbe clarifies: No 3-month promise on power grid, outlines realistic reform timeline
-
News5 days agoYoruba Heritage Festival Honouring Ogedengbe Begins July 29