Aggrieved All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Oyo State yesterday urged the party’s national leadership to wade into the crisis triggered by parallel congresses to prevent doom for the party in future elections.
The chieftains under the aegis of the ‘Unity Forum’ advised the National Working Committee (NWC) to be conscious of the legal implications of upholding any decision that has violated the APC guidelines on the disputed ward congresses.
The petition was signed by 37 concerned leaders, led by Dr. Busari Adebisi, former Secretary to Government and Chairman of Ibadan APC Elders Forum, who said Ajimobi is mounting pressure on the NWC to uphold the controversial congress.
He reminded the party that the enthronement illegal party executives had thrown up party candidates whose elections were nullified in the past, urging the party leadership to avoid the mistake.
According to the forum, Since May 5 ward congress of the party, Oyo APC has been divided, owing to failure of Ajimobi’s supporters to pay for nomination forms.
Adebisi said although the national working committee of the party is yet to make any formal statement on the issue, the petition became imperative, following the relocation of Governor Ajimobi to Abuja, his daily visit to the APC National Secretariat and his claims that the officers of the party are now all in his pocket. “
He recalled that the nation’s legal books are replete with cases of purported election of candidates by illegal party executives, which formed the basis for the nullification of such elections.
The petition reads: “In the last few weeks, the APC in Oyo State has been in the news. The bone of contention has been the outcome of the ward congress held in the state on Sunday May 6, 2018.
“We are constrained to call the attention of the National Working Committee of our great party to this unsavoury development in Oyo State.”