Ondo 2020: APC group raises alarm over plans to doctor party’s register

A group within the All progressives congress (APC) in Ondo state, lbi Giga Ambassadors has petitioned the national chairman of the party ,comrade Adams Oshiomhole over alleged plans by some aspirants in the party to doctor the party register ahead of governorship primary.

Addressing newsmen in Akure on Monday, the deputy director general of ibi giga ambassadors, chief Alaba Eniola- Ajipe who represented the Director General of the group, Prof. Lanre Olu Adeyemi said individuals who are also governorship aspirants had commenced moves to inject their loyalists into the register with   the intention of truncating the chances of governor Akeredolu.

Chief Ajipe alleged that the said aspirants had gone to Osun state to collate party membership slips and commenced injecting the fictitious names into the register so as to favor them in case the party adopted direct primary in July.

He pointed out that the 2014 party membership registration remained valid and any attempt to doctor the list could lead to crisis in the party and loss of governorship election in October.

Chief Ajipe however called on the national leadership of APC to ensure that such plans were not allowed to see the light of the day in the interest of the party.

Ajipe said “We write on behalf of the leadership and the entire Members of lbi Giga Ambassadors in Ondo State as a foremost mobilisation group that is propagating the achievements of Mr. Governor in all sectors of the economy since he has come to the saddle in the past three and half years or thereabout and seeking the re-election of His Excellency. Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN for a second term in office to formally inform you of the need to urgently stop the nefarious activities of some desperate Aspirants within our party who have embarked on the process of sabotaging the genuine efforts of the National leadership of our Party to conduct a Primary Election where every of our members would be convinced that the candidate who eventually emerges is a product of free, fair and transparent process which to us would make the Governorship Election come October, 2020 a less cumbersome task.

The said desperate Aspirants and their collaborators in an attempt to have their way if the National leadership of the Party adopts Direct Primary as the mode of electing the Party Candidate in the forthcoming scheduled Primary Election of our Party in Ondo State on 20th July, 2020 have gone to the state of Osun and collated Party Membership Slips which are in thousands and have been injecting these 0ctitious names on these Slips into a concocted Party membership Register which they intend to use in Ondo State towns bordering Osun state as these towns are mostly populated by Osun indigenes living here in Ondo state and doing their legitimate businesses for several years now.

According to our source, the Aspirants have perfected plans to ‘smuggle’ into Ondo State, people from Osun State who would appear as eligible Voters in “their various polling Units’ on the day of the Primary Election if the Primary Election is Direct mode. The other Aspirant has also gone as far as to Lagos state to collate thousands of Party Membership Slips to be used by his supposed supporters thereby designing a new Party Membership Registration Forms which have been distributed secretly across the various Wards in Ondo State. (Attached herewith are copies of the imported Party Membership Slip and the concocted Party Membership Registration Forms being distributed across the various Wards in Ondo State).

We are concerned that this unscrupulous action, if not quickly addressed, portends grave dangers to the fortunes of our great party as we prepare for the Party Primaries in July 2020 and the gubernatorial elections in October 2020.

Sir, we want to put on record that the party membership registration that was done in 2014 formed the existing APC Party Register in Ondo State and it is the only known party membership register that is in existence in Ondo State as at today. The National Party
Secretariat is yet to give a directive for the update of Party Membership Registration in Ondo State.

Thus any illegal injection of names as is currently being done by some desperate elements is inimical to the good image of our party and will no doubt create avoidable and unnecessary crisis in our dear State.

It is pertinent to emphasise here that our alarm is not borne out of cowardice but to guide jealously and safeguard the peace and tranquility that is prevalent in our Party in particular and generally in Ondo State at the moment because Ondo State people are very sophisticated and enlightened and would not condone any attempt by anyone who would for selfish reason overtly or covertly overreach a process thereby putting the innocent indigenes of the state into a sorry state.

On our own part, we want to put on record that we are mobilising for the re-election of the incumbent Governor whether the mode of the primary election is direct or indirect.

However. we are compelled to raise this alarm as we crave for a level playing field as we go into the primary election. We are concerned that if we allow some desperate Aspirants and their cohorts to tinker with the Party Register, it will tell on the integrity of the selection process and may spark unnecessary reactions that will affect the peace that we currently enjoy in Ondo State.

We are mostly concerned that these desperate Elements knowningfully well that they cannot go into a free and fair contest with the incumbent governor whose performances in all facets of the economy is greatly celebrated even by the opposition party in the state. Hence, they have been running from pillar to post in order to circumvent the mode of Primary which is yet to be announced by the National leadership of our Party.

We believe and we know that the party leadership is in firm control of the Party and will stop at nothing to bring about fairness, equity and justice to all members as the ability of the APC

in Ondo State to remain strong to win the forthcoming gubernatorial elections and subsequent elections is without doubt uppermost in their mind.

We hereby register our unalloyed loyalty and we are confident of the ability of the national leadership to do what is just in this circumstance. ”

About Author

Admin

See author's posts