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Tag: Oyo APC

  • Minimum Wage: Oyo APC tells Makinde to ‘stop crying wolf’

    THE Oyo State All Progressives Party (APC) yesterday insisted that the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration has the right to open discussion with labour unions on the new minimum wage.

    According to the party, the leadership of the union initiated the discussion with the administration.

    It appealed to the Governor-elect Seyi Makinde to stop crying wolf when there is none, emphasising that government is a continuum and no state government would disregard or ignore a Bill assented to law by the President for immediate implementation.

    The APC Publicity Secretary, Dr. AbdulAzeez Olatunde, said it was only an irresponsible state government that would disobey President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on the new minimum wage and also turn down its workforce’s request.

    He clarified that the organised labour – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress and Oyo State Council of Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) – wrote a letter dated April 24, 2019, requesting for implementation of the new wage with effect from April salary.

    Olatunde advised media houses, especially an Ibadan-based radio station, to always follow the principles of ethical journalism by cross-checking facts before broadcasting or going to press.

    Read also: Aspirants bow to APC on National Assembly leadership

    The party’s spokesman noted that a radio station analyst during a newspaper review programme yesterday mislead the public by stating that the organised labour did not write a letter to the government and that the Ajimobi administration never paid salaries on the 25th or 26th of any month.

    Olatunde said the continuous display of unprofessional conduct by the FM station was shocking, appealing to the media house to stop feeding the public falsehood.

    The APC Publicity Secretary stated that it was an unfortunate display of lack of understanding of governance for the governor-elect’s spokesperson, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, to insinuate that the Ajimobi administration would set a booby trap for the incoming administration.

    He stressed that Oyelade was being haunted by the landmines set for the Ajimobi administration by the government he (Oyelade) served between 2007 and 2011.

    The APC Publicity Secretary said the assumption by Oyelade and his cohorts was wrong, stating that the incoming government was at liberty to discontinue the discussion after its assumption of office.

    He insisted that the Ajimobi administration has not agreed with the labour on the modalities for implementing the new minimum wage.

    Olatunde noted that in the jointly signed letter by Comrades Kofo Ogundeji, Secretary NLC; Mayowa Falegbe, Secretary TUC and Kolawole Eniola, JNC Vice Chairman to the governor, the organised labour had requested for implementation on the new minimum wage for the April 2019 salary and requested that the governor should take quick action on their request.

    He said the organised labour claimed that its resolution for the governor to put machinery into motion for the immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage was made at its emergency meeting held on Tuesday, April 23.

    According to him, “Governor Ajimobi has only acted responsibly towards the new law by the President and the follow-up request by the organised labour. The governor’s high sense of fairness and politics without bitterness will not allow him to engage in setting booby traps.

    “He recently demonstrated this with the unprecedented inauguration of the joint transition committee, which is the first in the history of the state. We urge the incoming government to stop crying wolf and prepare for the serious act of governance, which is more tasking than rabble-rousing,” Olatunde added.

     

  • Adelabu, APC get tribunal’s nod to inspect election materials

    THE Election Petitions Tribunal in Oyo State yesterday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the March 9 governorship election, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, to inspect materials used in the poll.

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Seyi Makinde, was declared winner of the election after polling 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu, who had 357,982. Joined in the case as respondents are the PDP and the INEC.

    The tribunal chairman, Justice Anthony Akpovi at yesterday’s hearing,  ordered INEC to allow the petitioners and their agents to inspect and obtain all polling documents used during the election.

    Justice Akpovi also directed INEC to make available all ballot papers, voter registers and copies of all election materials in all polling units.

    Counsel to Adelabu Mr. Olajide Ola had prayed the court to grant his motion ex parte to inspect the governorship election materials.

    Adelabu and his party had filed a petition at the tribunal against INEC for declaring Makinde winner of the governorship election.

    They are seeking, among other reliefs , a declaration that the commission is wrong to have declared Makinde winner of the election as well as a declaration that the election is marred with violence and irregularities.

  • Why Oyo APC failed in general election, by group

    A GROUP within the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo APC Reformers, has identified why the party failed in the last general elections.

    According to the group, a good number of those who were given federal appointments never worked for the success of the party because of one reason or the other.

    “Some who were formerly within the APC, when they were appointed, left the party before the election commenced due to intra-party crises. Yet many of them are still holding different party appointments,” the group said.

    It said those who are representing the party through appointments were not given back to the masses as expected and did not take part in the last electioneering campaigns.

    The group in a statement signed by its secretary,  Alhaji Sulaimon Rhamon, advised the party at the national level to reconstitute the Federal Executive  Council and other federal appointments to reinvigorate APC in Oyo State with a view to reclaiming power in 2023.

    APC Reformers, in the statement issued after its monthly meeting in Ibadan, said: “One of the major contributors to the failure of our party at the last election is the apolitical nature of some of the people currently appointed into federal positions from the state.

    “Out of the nine Federal Special Assistants appointed from the state, none of them is a known member of the party or took part in the electioneering process for President Muhammadu Buhari in the state.

    “Now that Oyo APC has no state power, such positions must now be given to technocrats and loyalists within the party, who will use the posts to deliver dividends of democracy as indicated in the party’s manifesto, for political patronage and future success of our party in Oyo State.

    “The APC Reformers believe that if appointments were properly made and spread across the political zones in the state, the story of Oyo APC may have been different today.”

  • Oyo APC will bounce back, says Ajimobi’s wife

    OYO State Governor’s wife Dr. Florence Ajimobi has assured the people that the ruling All Progress Congress (APC) will bounce back to power in 2023.

    She also solicited for support and prayers of the people, especially women, for the incoming People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government.

    Mrs. Ajimobi said God had destined the Governor-elect, Mr. Seyi Makinde, to take over from her husband.

    The governor’s wife spoke at the April edition of the quarterly prayer rally organised by the Women Intercessory Network at the Remembrance Arcade, opposite Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, at the weekend.

    She said: “We are very proud; it is a women intercessory network devoid of any political party. I am the wife of the governor of Oyo State and my husband is an APC member, but this is not a political ground. We are here to pray for the government of Oyo State and for our nation at large.

    Read also: Senate Presidency: erring senators risk expulsion from APC

    “I want to implore our women, like I have said earlier, that they should make sure they bring every woman here so that we will continue to pray for the administration of the incoming governor.

    “But that doesn’t make me less an APC member. We are coming back in 2023 by the grace of God and on this ground that God has continued to answer prayers, APC is going to come back in Jesus name.”

    Noting the place of prayers in the success of any political administration, Mrs. Ajimobi urged the governor-elect, Mr Seyi Makinde, not to compromise prayers.

    She stressed that no government, irrespective of how well-intentioned and focused, could achieve anything without the backing of God.

    The event was well-attended by women from across the state, wives of political office holders, women politicians, political appointees, children and others.

  • Oyo APC will bounce back in 2023, Ajimobi’s wife vows

    Wife of the Oyo State governor, Dr Florence Ajimobi has assured the people of the State that the All Progressive Congress (APC), will bounce back and come back to power in 2023.

    This is as she also solicited for support and prayers of the people of the state, especially women for the incoming People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government, saying God had destined the Governor-Elect, Mr Seyi Makinde to take over from her husband.

    The Oyo First lady made the remarks while giving what could be described as her valedictory speech at the April edition of the quarterly prayer rally organized by the Women Intercessory Network, which held at the Remembrance Arcade, Opposite Government House, Agodi, Ibadan at the weekend.

    She said “We are very proud, it is a women intercessory network devoid of any political party. I am the wife of the governor of Oyo state and my husband is an APC member but this is not a political ground. We are here to pray for the government of Oyo state and for our nation at large.

    “I want to implore our women, like I have said earlier that they should make sure they bring every woman here so that we will continue to pray for the administration of the incoming governor.

    “But that doesn’t make me less an APC member, we are coming back in 2023 by the grace of God and on this ground that God has continued to answer prayers, APC is going to come back in Jesus name.”

    Read also: Ogun APC group tasks governor-elect, deputy on infrastructure

    Noting the place of prayers for the success of any political administration, Dr Ajimobi urged the Governor-elect not to compromise the issue of prayers stressing that, no government irrespective of how well intentioned and focused could achieve anything without the backing of God.

    She disclosed that it was the “aggressive, consistent and effectual prayers of the people, especially women at the prayer rally” which had been on since the last seven years that assisted the administration of her husband to effectively restore peace into the state which was almost becoming a banana republic.

    Dr Ajimobi further pointed out that WIN is not a project of the APC government but a project set up by anointed women of God to ensure that Oyo state is transformed into a state where peace and stability would reign. She expressed joy that the objectives of the Network were achieved. She also promised to attend future prayer rallies, to join thousands of women praying for the state regularly.

    “My wish is that WIN must not die. We should endeavour to do our best and ensure that all those plotting to bring the state backward are destroyed by the power of God Almighty. We shall attend future prayer programme of WIN because this state will not go back to the era of brigandage.

    “Any group dreaming of taking back the state to backwardness should be regarded as agents of violence. They would be visited by the wrath of God. I am not cursing but our desire for this state is peace and progress which we are leaving behind”, the outgoing First Lady stressed.

    Mrs Ajimobi emphasised that the women should ensure that more members were mobilised to the program which according to her was neither for Christians and Muslims alone and not restricted to any political party.

    Highpoint of the event which could be described as the valedictory for the Ajimobi administration was the special prayer session and cutting of birthday cake to celebrate the Governor’s wife 60th birthday.

    The event was well attended by women from across the state, wives of political office holders, female politicians and political appointees, children among others.

     

  • Who will fix Oyo APC’s fractured home?

    Sir: Time, like light, is a revealer; in fact nothing tests the quality of any human or scientific inventions like time; that a product would endure to serve intended purpose could only be guaranteed by ability to withstand the test of time. Same way, the extent by which a social or human identity can survive depends largely on  time and the capacity on the side of the drivers.

    In Oyo State, everything was assumed alright within the fold of the All Progressives Congress, APC, until the trick of time subjected the structure of the ruling party to test, especially after the 2019 general elections.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi, former senator favoured to have broken the two-term jinx of leading the state was believed would annex the privilege of longer stay on the seat to navigate Oyo in the mould of Lagos where political leadership have constantly been in the hands of political base with progressive leanings regardless of how much it had metamorphosed.

    Managing the APC in the ‘Pacesetter’ state should not then be a difficult task if the right thing had been done. Ajimobi should ordinarily have it all; the maturity that should come with age and of course, the privilege of sharing the same political structure with the cental government among many.

    But while it is infantile to lay all the blames for the dislodgement of the party from the Agodi Governor’s Office on him alone, the outgoing governor played also disturbing role in allowing his garrulous dispositions to leadership derail him from focus and successfully drove away loyalists that could help him from the party.

    Not just Ajimobi, the Saki-born Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, a long-term associate of President Muhammadu Buhari from the days of Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, cannot also be exonerted from the collapsing fortune of the APC in the state.

    For differences perceived to be irreconcilable, both Shittu and Ajimobi failed to mend fences in the interest of the party; while Shittu not only wanted to replace the ‘koseleri’ occupier of the seat of government, he similarly vowed not to see any of his proteges replacing Ajimobi should he lose the bid to be governor and true to his words, although Shittu worked for the success of Buhari in the presidential election, not same could be said when it got to the governorship poll where the party lost to the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

    Already, the party is in shambles without a unifying face to retool and bring it back to reckoning.

    Sadly, an Ajimobi that should do the magic has lost out and Shittu that should be the its reconciliatory icon is also faced with calls for his recall from the Buhari cabinet and frequent attacks on his competence as minister even as he continues to lose political relevance at home.

    The question now is, who will mend the stitches? The hope that the gubernatorial candidate of the party in Oyo State, Oloye Adebayo Adelabu would do something seems to have crashed, not because he lost at the polls, but for touching base with the Ajimobi political machinery for which he was  punished at the polls and for keeping distance from the party and reverberating accusation about his arrogance. He is feared to be more repulsive than the fading regime led by Ajimobi, therefore may not be the best with the Midas touch.

    But some have looked in the direction of Chief Joseph Tegbe, a former governorship aspirant who was favoured to replace the governor until the last minute intrigue of his swap.

    Friendly, generous and politically neutral, observers believe that if Tegbe was the one with the ticket of the APC in the March 9 contest, Engr. Seyi Makinde most likely would not be the governor in-waiting today.

    In politics, another election starts the day one is won or lost, the APC in Oyo therefore stands the chance to reunite for a formidable battle in 2023 if it can trust the best hand which Tegbe represents today in uniting the party as a rallying figure.

    Fortunately, the party still has controlling presence in its membership at the national assembly although with dwindled fortune in the state, this can redefine the fate of the APC in Oyo if the right person can man the job of reuniting foes and building party bridges in the days starting from now; I believe it will require a personality in the mold of Joseph Tegbe to achieve this daunting task.

    The tickling of time starts now and one hopes those that should know will also act before it’s too late. Let Tegbe rebuild APC in Oyo.

     

    • Yemi Akanmu,

    Ibadan.

  • What future for Oyo APC?

    The Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) performed woefully in the just concluded general elections. The state lost both the presidential and the governorship polls to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the factors that were responsible for the performance and the way forward.

    THE defeat of the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recent presidential election, President Muhammadu Buhari, in Oyo State came as a surprise. Many had thought that Oyo being an APC state would deliver for Buhari. Besides, incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the party’s senatorial candidate for Oyo South, was equally defeated by a dark horse fielded by the PDP.

    The party also inflicted a crushing defeat on the APC in the governorship and the House of Assembly elections. The PDP governorship candidate, Seyi Makinde, polled 515, 621 votes to defeat APC’s Adebayo Adelabu who garnered 357, 982 votes.

    A stalwart of the APC who spoke in confidence said: “Ajimobi performed well as governor, because he constructed and rehabilitated many roads more than all his predecessors. He also excelled in the provision of basic infrastructure, but his leadership style is negative. Ajimobi’s leadership style ruined the APC. He doesn’t listen to anybody; even those working with him don’t have access to him. He is not a team player. He is self-centred.

    “It was a protest vote against Ajimobi; it was the state versus Ajimobi, not the APC against the PDP. We won’t find ourselves in the position we are today, if Ajimobi had listened to words of wisdom. Look at the case of the aggrieved members that defected to other parties; he never made attempt to reconcile with them. Politics is a game of numbers. You can imagine if all those who left the party were still with us today; our party would have won all elections in the state.”

    The party stalwart said the defeat suffered by the APC was a result of protracted internal crises. The conflict, he said, dates back to the years of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the APC was formed.

    Before the 2011 general elections, the ACN had two distinct camps: those loyal to a former governor and leader of the party, Lam Adesina, and those in support of the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. The late Adesina’s camp was known as “Lamists”, while those loyal to Ajimobi were tagged “SENACO”, an acronym for the governor’s campaign organisation.

    Before the death of Adesina, there had been insinuations that the Lamists were being sidelined in the scheme of things. But the animosity was not pronounced until the death of Adesina and formation of the APC. The crack widened in December 2016 when some members of the Lamist group alleged that the governor was planning to impose candidates on party members in the local government election scheduled for February 2017. The conflict later degenerated into a sharp division in the party, which later snowballed into a full controversy that tore the party apart. The ward and state congresses turned violent.

    The crisis and in-fighting reached a crescendo during the build up to the last governorship primary. The Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, who was a governorship aspirant, rallied together some aggrieved APC members and federal lawmakers in the state under the umbrella of what they called “Unity Forum”.  Most of them had defected from the APC to other parties, like the ADC and the PDP.

    On the eve of the 2019 general elections, Shittu vowed to work against the APC in Oyo State. He was disqualified from participating in the governorship primary by the National Working Committee (NWC) on the ground that he did not participate in the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He rejected the call on him by the reconciliation committee to bury the hatchet in the interest of the party.

    Shittu said: “Before you talk of reconciliation you must first talk of restitution. If you violate somebody’s property and you are found out, instead of you to surrender what you had stolen you are now talking of reconciliation. As for me, I don’t recognise the governorship candidate of the APC. I am in court and I am sure that I would triumph over those who were less than intelligent to foist a stranger on our party in Oyo State.

    “With all sense of humility, I have passed the stage where any party would threaten me. I am in court and if the party is sure that it has a better basis for what they have done, let us go and meet in court. You don’t start threatening those who feel unfairly treated, thinking you can get me out of the justice system.”

    The minister alleged that some leaders in the APC were worse than some of the PDP members they were accusing of impunity and corruption. He added: “I have passed that stage where any party will be threatening me. The loss is not mine, but that of the people of Oyo State who deserve the best in governance.”

    The APC spokesman in Oyo State, Dr Olatunde AbdulAzeez, said this is not the time to blame any individual for the party’s misfortune. His words: “I don’t believe in blame game. What matters to us now is how we are going to bounce back to power; it is not how long it takes you to get up when you fall, but the courage you bring into it that matters.

    “As progressives, we know in politics, there must be challenges. How we are able to overcome these challenges will separate us from the conservatives. In 2003, we were in complete dark, when the entire Southwest, except Lagos State, was taken over by the PDP. We didn’t succumb; we took our time to re-strategise and reposition our party and by the grace of God, we regained power in 2011.

    “In 2019, our problem is in isolation. In the whole of Southwest, only Oyo State was taken over by the PDP. The kitchen will be too hot for them. Oyo State is odd man in the Southwest. The PDP victory in Oyo State will not last.”

    On the way forward, AbdulAzeez said: “The APC in Oyo State should restructure its activities. For the next one year, it will be ‘siddon look approach’. We have pretenders in the fold. Within one year, they will show their true colour. We shall embark on stock taking. The hypocrites among us would find their way; our blood will not desert us.”

    But, Ogundare had advised the APC against shutting its door against aggrieved members who left the party. He said the party should have a sober reflection over its problems and find enduring solutions to them. He said: “If I were Ajimobi I will go for an all inclusive reconciliation. Invite those who left to a round table meeting and resolve all the differences in the interest of the party.

    “You can’t say people like Pa Michael Koleoso from Oke-Ogun zone, Dr Busari Adebisi, Adebayo Shittu, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, Yinus Akintunde, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Chief Adegoke Oyetunji and many others that have decamped are not relevant in Oyo politics. Ajimobi should put ego aside and look for a way to accommodate these people. If he is able to do that, the APC would bounce back in Oyo State very soon.”

    The analyst said if the APC had reconciled with former Governor Alao-Akala weeks before the election, it would have performed better. He described the situation whereby it took the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to intervene and get Alao-Akala back to work for the APC governorship candidate in less than a week to the day of election as laudable, but too late. He said the scenario suggested either Ajimobi did not make overtures to Alao-Akala or that the former governor rebuffed him.

    Ogundare advised the APC National Working Committee to reconcile aggrieved party members in Oyo State. He said Ajimobi is a party to the crisis. He added: “So, there is no way he can resolve the crisis fairly. Asking Ajimobi to preside the reconciliation meeting is like asking him to be a judge and prosecutor in his own case.”

     

  • Oyo APC to opposition: your nuisance value ends next week

    The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the postponement of the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections as an opportunity for the opposition in the state to remain relevant for another one week.

    The ruling party said it was jolted by the postponement but later noted that it was a blessing.

    It added that the vote-buying method of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition parties were foiled.

    In a statement in Ibadan, the state capital, by its Publicity Secretary, Dr AbdulAzeez Olatunde, APC said the postponement was just a grace period for the opposition to continue with what it called their “noise pollution of the political space”.

    The ruling party said the opposition’s imminent failure at the polls was only postponed by another one week.

    It said the opposition parties were counting their losses as those they mobilised with millions of naira to buy votes for them had disappeared.

    APC urged INEC to ensure that there are no further hitches to conduct the elections.

    It also urged the commission to ensure free, fair, transparent and credible elections so that the choices of the electorates will count.

  • Ajimobi seeks support for Oyo APC candidates

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has solicited the support of traditional rulers and indigenes of Oke Ogun for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The governor spoke at the weekend as the party rounded off its three-day road shows and campaign rallies in the zone.

    He said his administration had kept faith with residents of the area since 2011, promising that the APC would do more for the zone if its governorship candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, is elected in the March 2 poll.

    Ajimobi, who is the APC candidate for Oyo South, led the campaign train of the party to the zone – from Wednesday to Friday – touring all the 10 local government areas and the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

    At each stop, he also canvassed support for President Muhammadu Buhari, Adelabu and other APC candidates ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    Addressing the party’s supporters in Igboho, the governor said the next administration would further harness the agriculture potential of Oke Ogun in furtherance of APC’s agenda to make the zone the food basket of the country.

    Ajimobi said his administration was not owing any member of the House of Assembly whether salaries and allowances.

    The governor said he labelled the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their ilk a band of liars.

    He said: “I heard he claimed he could not do projects because his late predecessor had been paid all the entitlements accruable to the constituency. I want to state categorically that this claim is a lie from the pit of hell.

  • One killed in Oyo APC, PDP campaign

    One supporter of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Salaudeen Surajudeen, has died during a clash at the weekend with members of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Several others were severely injured.

    Surajudeen was said to have been found lying in a pool of his blood following an attack at Igboora in Ibarapa Local Government Area on Saturday evening.

    Others who sustained severe cuts were said to be receiving treatment at undisclosed medical facilities in the area.

    The incident is coming on the heels of a call by the PDP governorship candidate, Seyi Makinde, that Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude should summon an emergency security meeting.

    Makinde said this would reduce incessant attacks by suspected members of the state’s chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

    The PDP candidate, last Thursday, was attacked in Ojoo area of the city, leaving one person injured and a vehicle damaged while returning from a campaign tour of council areas in Oyo town.

    Also, the APC campaign rally was attacked around 5.30 p.m in Ibarapa on Saturday.

    Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the rally, leaving a motorcycle (Okada) mechanic in the area and supporter of the party lying in a pool of his blood.

    Both parties have been trading blames on the new wave of bloody attacks in the state.

    While the ruling party accused the PDP of sponsoring the attacks, the opposition pointed fingers at the APC.

    In a statement by its spokesman Dr. AbdulAzeez Olatunde, the APC accused the PDP of attempting to kill its (APC’s) governorship candidate, Mr. Bayo Adelabu, who he claimed only escaped from the attack by the whiskers.

    Olatunde said: “The untoward event occurred barely after the APC governorship hopeful, Oloye Bayo Adelabu, finished addressing a capacity crowd of supporters who were apparently in upbeat mood to receive the candidate and his campaign train in the sleepy town.

    “Shortly after the address by the duo of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Adelabu, some stern-looking PDP hatchet men were poised to attack Adelabu by wielding weapons as they advanced towards his direction to attack him.”

    He said security men hurriedly ferried Adelabu to the nearest vehicle for protection.

    Makinde, through his Director of Media and Publicity, Prince Dotun Oyelade, urged the police commissioner and the Director of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to summon an emergency meeting of leaders of all political parties on the current tense security situation in the state.