Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state, Chief Akin Oke, has described the alleged rejection of the harmonised list of the new state Executive Committee of the party by its national leadership as “a wicked rumour coming from some desperate and overzealous politicians who do not mean well for the masses.”
An Ibadan-based online medium had on Wednesday reportedly that Chief Oke visited the Abuja national secretariat of the APC but was turned back as the harmonized list of the new State Executive Committee members he wanted to submit was rejected on the ground that it was not duly endorsed by one or two named stakeholders but this was immediately found to be untrue as the publisher later withdrew the story from circulation.
In his reaction to the development through a statement he personally issued and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Wednesday, Chief Oke frowned at what he described as “deliberate attempts by some supposed party members to use a section of the media to create a panic situation with a view imposing their selfish agenda on the generality of the party membership in the state.
“As rightly stated by a concerned chieftain of our dear party, Mr. Afeez Bolaji Repete, there is no iota of truth in the information contained in the news story which we have confirmed to have been sponsored by the same elements who are bent on setting Oyo APC on fire. The truth of the matter is that I was in Ibadan all through today (Wednesday) and I neither traveled to Abuja nor sent any list to our national secretariat.
“Concerned stakeholders are still consulting on how to achieve the desired harmonization in the face of varying interest among the different tendencies. We are in regular contact with Abuja and they are aware that we need little time more to come up with the list. So, the question of a list being taken to Abuja and rejected does not arise at all.
“Concern leaders and stakeholders are to meet this Friday again to take a final decision on the matter and we can assure the general public that everything will be fine. As a result of this, we appeal to all members and supporters of our great Party to remain calm and eschew all acts capable of causing unnecessary panic or disrupting the peace process as mid-wived by the national leadership of the party last week in Abuja.
“In conclusion, we use this medium to make a strong appeal to journalists to always double check their facts and balance their stories before rushing to press. We are in an era where some unscrupulous political players look for partners among media practitioners to drive their antics. But it is highly imperative for professionals in the media industry to avoid any compromise on the ethics of journalism for whatever reasons in a bid to assist the cause of democracy and nation building”, Oke stressed.
