Tag: Osun APC

The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has called on people of the state to maintain hope, fortitude and perseverance as they observe the Yuletide period.

The party said it is imperative that everyone should look forward with “hope that divine change will occur to end this needless suffering that is sweeping across Nigeria under the PDP-led federal government’s utter mismanagement of the country’s finances.”

ýIn a Christmas/New Year message to the people by its spokesperson, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, the party said Osun in particular was being made to suffer because the state stood up to the Federal Government’s tyranny and voted against the PDP in the August 9 governorship election.

The party said: “No matter the economic terrorism of the Federal Government and the PDP, the people of Osun shall remain unbowed to the evil economic might of the PDP-led Federal Government, which they are currently using to strangulate workers in the State of Osun.

“In this season when people are celebrating the great advent of Jesus of Nazareth, the Federal Government, led by a so-called Christian, is entertaining himself with the agony of Nigerians who are miserably suffering under the massive corruption of the PDP that has left our economy comatose.”

Also, the first civilian governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, charged the people of state to continue to live together in peace and harmony, irrespective of their religious affiliations.

In a Christmas message by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Olumide Lawal, the former governor said it was necessary to allow peace in the state in order to ensure its accelerated development, no matter the odds.

Senator Adeleke, who is also the Asiwaju of Ede, said the cooperation and unalloyed loyalty of the people of Osun to the Aregbesola administration at “this crucial time of economic downturn should not be compromised in any way.”

Adeleke noted that despite the lean financial resources of Osun State, Governor Rauf Aregbesola is determined to see all ongoing projects completed in good time.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has said Senator Babajide Omoworare is its candidate for the Osun East National Assembly election.

The party Chairman, Gboyega Famodun, said: “We are exploring this medium to correct the misrepresentation and wrong impression registered by an aspirant, claiming to have won the primary election.

‘On December 3, screenings were held to scrutinise credentials of aspirants. On this day, there was no primary election. The process and stages were uniform and there was no ambiguity as to how they emerged.

“Governor Rauf Aregbesola did not interfere with the process let alone imposing any candidate as being misrepresented from certain quarters. The stage being referred to by the aspirant is just a screening and not sufficient as stipulated in the party constitution to serve the purpose of a properly defined primary, which was finalised on December 9 at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo.

“From the result of the exercise conducted for Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare won at all levels and has been issued the necessary documents to proceed as the party’s candidate. We implore anyone spreading falsehood and disparaging the party, our candidate and the governor to desist from such diversionary exercise.

“We also implore the public to disregard any discordant tunes, disregard all unfounded claims, remain focused and vote for all APC candidates.”

But Omoworare, in a statement by his spokesperson, Tunde Dairo, explained how he emerged the APC candidate.

He said: “We have read the same assertion in some newspapers. To forestall any element of ambiguity, I intend to set the records straight, prevent a misdirection of public consciousness and probe the intentions of Sola Lawal.

“If we are silent at this threshold of history, this false assertion may soon adorn the toga of the truth and posterity will not judge us right.

“On intuition, I (Senator Omoworare) left Abuja for Osogbo en route Lagos on December 3. After some meetings, at 2 pm, he got a call from a party leader asking him to come to Osogbo with his “credentials” for “screening” slated for 2.30 pm.

“Senator Omoworare has been contesting elections since 1999 (AD, AC, ACN, and now APC) and had always respected party leaders at every level and attended party screening sessions.

“This is notwithstanding the fact that he had been satisfactorily screened and issued a clearance certificate by the Screening Committee set up by the National Secretariat of APC.

“We are not aware that “votes” are cast at screenings. We are also not aware that a screening exercise is tantamount to primaries. Going by the timetable set by our party, senatorial primaries could not have been conducted on December 3 nor could it have been conducted by conclave.”

Prince Gboyega Famodun recently emerged as the Chairman of the Osun State All Progressives Congress. In his inaugural speech, he unfolded his vision for the chapter and highlighted the challenges that will confront the stakeholders, ahead of next year’s polls. Excerpts

I want to commence by thanking you all  for the confidence reposed in me and the entire executive to steer the affairs of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in our dear state.

To us, it is both an opportunity and a challenge. It is an opportunity to put our hands on the plough in steering our great party to the next level. It is a challenge because, the task ahead is daunting. It is a pleasant challenge though to sweat and labour for our great party until the APC reaches the Promised Land at all levels. Ours will be a commonwealth, to which everyone contributes and from which everyone benefits. With the support of all of you, we will not labour in vain.

What we are experiencing in our party in Osun this time is unique in the sense that, for the very first time in the history of any party, all the governors that have ever ruled the state have congregated in the APC. From the first executive governor, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke, to our father and former National Chairman of our great party, Chief Bisi Akande, and the immediate past governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and our indefatigable governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, we are blessed as a party with a cream of experienced leaders from whose well of knowledge we will draw in running the affairs of our great party.

To be sure, political actors from both the progressive and the conservative folds have put resources together to upstage political forces that by their actions only make spurious references to democracy but are indeed undemocratic in their words and deeds. The formation of the APC has once again showed that democrats from different ideological backgrounds are determined to work together to ensure that the electorates are no longer taken for granted by the forces of evil that have held this nation hostage at the federal level since the onset of this Fourth Republic.

The APC, under our leadership, with the support of all and sundry, is well positioned to continue to mobilize men and women in the onerous task of ensuring that the forces of evil are completely rooted out. Our executive will be proactive, and will not wait until things get out of hand before thinking of what action to take. We understand that the party executives constitute the engine room through which party policies are espoused and promoted. We shall provide the gateway for ensuring people’s continuous confidence in our great party. You have enthroned a leadership that will continue to sell the party to the people until the whole state is taken over. We will pre-occupy ourselves with how to manage our recent success at the polls and translate the recent show of support displayed by the populace to full party membership.

My distinguished party leaders and members, we are well aware that party leadership is a serious affair. We want to assure you all that we are well tutored in the art of organization and mobilization of men and resources. We are resolved as true democrats to ensure openness, democracy, and a level-playing field within our party. We will defend our party’s position in rain and sunshine, in the open and in the secret. We do not lay claim to monopoly of knowledge. Rather, we are prepared to listen to others and consult other party leaders and members from time to time. We will not be sectional but we will be sensitive to the different backgrounds and orientations of party members. We will build the structures of our party into a functional party machine to meet the challenges of political battles of the present age. I make bold to say without any equivocation that there is room enough for everyman to contribute his views but not enough room for anyone to dominate. However, opinions of our leaders will be sought and respected.

Great and distinguished party leaders and members, we have a dream-a dream of a party of millions of men ready to lay down their lives to ensure that we are no longer robbed by destroyers but rather ensure that the welfarism and good governance of Governor Aregbesola continue unabated until development becomes irreversible. It goes without saying that our people in the state of Osun are now reaping the dividends of democracy.

To conclude, this executive will among others be all inclusive and carry everybody along without discrimination to ensure a level-playing field for all aspirants to political offices in our party; enthrone sound organisational structure and accountability within the party; and cooperate with the governor and his team to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy. It would also ensure an open-door policy that will enable all party members access to the secretariat to raise questions, make complaints, offer advices and volunteer; mobilize and raise fund for the running of the party; ensure internal democracy within the party; engage in issue-based discussion and opposition while avoiding politics of bitterness; research and defend the positions of the party wherever the need arises; organize regular training for party workers and candidates; conduct regular opinion polls on party strengths to inform planning and actions and consult with party leaders from time to time as the need arises.

The ruling All Progressives Congress in Osun State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are trading words over the purported ‎ruling of the Court of Appeal in Akure, which allegedly upheld the judgment of an Osogbo High Court that the former Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, was not qualified to conduct the 2011 elections in the state.

While the PDP has hailed the decision of the Court of Appeal, the APC said it was funny that “the judgment of that magnitude and importance to our democratic culture was to be delivered in Akure and was unknown to anybody, except Omisore’s PDP.

“According to a statement by the PDP’s Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, “this landmark ruling has vindicated the PDP’s stance that Akeju, because of his relationship with the APC national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has no moral justification to conduct the election.

“We urge the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to demonstrate that it is truly independent by obeying this ruling and sack Akeju without further delay because it has been proven by court of competent jurisdiction that the controversial REC is a card-carrying member of the APC and not fit to preside over election anywhere in the country.‎”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the APC, Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement, yesterday, said that “media correspondents in Akure only got the news of the so-called judgment from Omisore’s office in Osogbo. Something terribly sinister is going on here.

“It is even funny still that when the correspondents in Akure got the news from Omisore’s office in Osun, they rushed to the Appeal Court to get the judgment, but the court was said to have closed for the day, after supposedly having delivered a judgment that was unknown to the public.”

The APC said it was waiting to see the content of “that judgment ‎before we can make any comment.”