BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Some youths who are members of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State have accused Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Caretaker Chairman of the APC, Prince Gboyega Famodun of committing electoral fraud ahead of today’s ward congresses of the party.
The youths who staged a protest on the Gbongan-Ibadan road, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo, on Friday, alleged Oyetola and Famodun of hijacking the nomination forms brought by some national officials of the APC and plans to have consensus arrangement without the support of other stakeholders of the party.
According to the group, the national officials who came to Osogbo last week Saturday were camped at a hotel under security surveillance and were barred from relating with any other members of the party in the state.
The youths, under the aegis of Progressive Youth Movement, called on the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to intervene in the matter and ensure that there is free and fair ward congress in the state.
Speaking at the Secretariat, one of the leaders of the group, Rasheed Raji, said: “We are here to protest the electoral fraud being committed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the APC Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun. The two leaders of the party are clearly killing APC in the State of Osun.
“Our party at the national level sent committee members led by one Abdullahi down to Osun since last week Saturday to begin sales of form and preparation for the congress. But ever since they arrived, the committee members are nowhere to be found. They are neither at the State Party Secretariat or any other place carrying out their national duty.
“Thousands of our members have paid for the nomination forms to participate in the ward congresses but were not given forms. Only members of Governor Oyetola’s group, IleriOluwa were given forms. This is a plan to manipulate the congresses. The National Secretariat of our party should know this.”
“We wanted to take our protest to the State Secretariat of our party but the Governor has stationed political thugs there. They planned to attack us and we do not want bloodshed. But our voice will be heard. We don’t want consensus in Osun and the congress committee should be allowed to do its job.
Meanwhile, a caucus within the party, The Osun Progressives (TOP) failed to agree on consensus arrangement introduced by the party and vowed to hold its Congress on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the Chairman of TOP, Rev Adelowo Adebiyi, accused the state caretaker committee chaired by Prince Gboyega Famodun of refusing to carry other stakeholders in the party along except Ilerioluwa, a group loyal to the State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
The caucus noted that its members had eventually got forms from the National Secretariat of the party and would be contesting the ward Congress.
Adebiyi said the ward congress committee did not screen aspirants and that the officials had remained incommunicado. He said the group was not in support of consensus arrangement and that it would hold its Congress on Saturday.
“Our observation is that they (APC caretaker committee) are scared of contest 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 capacity to win, why did they hijack the national Secretariat officers and held them incommunicado since they arrived the state?” Adebiyi queried.
