Congress: Photos of Gambo Lawan-led committee at Oyo APC secretariat surface

The October 30 state congress of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), in Oyo state, is not yet over as claims and counter claims made by the leaders, stakeholders and the State Congress Committee Chairman, Alhaji Gambo Lawan, still trail the exercise.

Speaking on Monday, the State’s Congress Chairman, Lawan denied that four members of the committee, including, Mr Lanre Edun,  Mallam Abdullai Kontagora, Mr Diran Iyantan and Chief Ralph Igbokwe, who allegedly opted out of the assignment based on unresolved controversy surrounding the alleged ‘fake delegates’ list’, earlier raised by the party secretariat and leaders in the state, were not on the list of members handed over to him in Abuja.

Lawan further claimed three other members joined the Secretary to conduct the Congress.

However, pictorial evidence obtained by Mega Icon Magazine on Monday revealed that the four members who had earlier distanced self from the said congress are authentic members of the Oyo State Congress Committee

The critical scanning of the pictures taken at the Stakeholders Meeting of the All Progressives Congress  held at the party Secretariat in Ibadan , last Friday have confirmed that the four members who distanced themselves from the purported congress are authentic members of the committee.

In these pictures,the four members sat at the high table with the Chiarman of the committee,Gambo Lawan  to meet stakeholders at the party secretariat, Oke-Ado, Ibadan.

 

To  the far left  is Abubakar Abdullah in white. Next to him is Chief Ralph Igbokwe, Preace Chikelue,only female member in the team ; Gambo Lawan, the Chairman, Chief Akin Oke,Chairman of APC in Oyo State, Abdullai Bello,Secretary of the Congress Committee,Hon Diran Iyatan and Hon Olawale Edun.

 

It will be recalled that the outgoing chairman of the party in the state, Chief Akin Oke and the stakeholders, had on Friday evening, , raised an alarm over the delegates’ list handed over to him by the Alhaji  Gambo Lawan-led State’s Congress Committee, insisting that the said list do not reflect the results which emanated from the Ward and Local Government Congresses as done on July 31 and September 4, 2021 respectively.

The Oyo APC stakeholders, thereafter, appealed to the national leadership of the party to reconsider its decision on the state congress already scheduled for Saturday till an authentic  delegates’ list is provided, just as they called on the leaders of the party  to investigate and punish those responsible for the false list appropriately.

But, the Chairman of the State Congress Committee, Alhaji Gambo Lawan, had earlier informed that he had directed his Secretary, Bello Abdulai to conduct the state congress since he was prevented from leaving his hotel for several hours, by unknown hoodlums alleged to be sponsored by some members of the party who did not want the congress to hold.

It was also gathered that four of the seven members in the State congress committee have allegedly opted out of the assignment and hurriedly returned to Abuja.

The four members , Mr Lanre Edun,  Mallam Abdullai Kontagora, Mr Diran Iyantan and Chief Ralph Igbokwe, according to sources, had argued at a meeting of the committee Friday night that the protest against the delegates’  list presented at the Stakeholders meeting should not be dismissed if the party would be reconciled for the 2023