Minister of Communications and governorship aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo State chapter, Adebayo Shittu, has told Governor Abiola Ajimobi that the list of his loyalists recently unveiled as the party’s candidates for the May 12 council election will not stand and will be resisted by him.
Shittu, who stated this on Saturday, while featuring on Political Circuit, an interview programme on Fresh FM, Ibadan, described as undemocratic the consensus list released by the governor adding that the APC’s constitution only provided for direct or indirect primaries.
At an event in Lafia hotel in Ibadan a fortnight ago, loyalists of Governor Ajimobi were announced as APC chairmanship candidates in the polls.
But Shittu, who described the event at the hotel as unconstitutional, said it would be a daydream for the governor and his loyalists to think they could erect something on nothing, asking why the governor was afraid of primaries.
He queried: “Why will a few people sit in a hotel and decide for the entire state? This is Oyo State. It is not a banana republic. It is not a kangaroo state. It is unacceptable. It is unfair to people who have used their hard-earned money to purchase forms from the party for almost a year.
“What happened at that hotel is nothing over which nobody can put something. I want to say on behalf of millions of our party members across the state that they will stand for primary election and vote for people of their choice.
“It is better we don’t have local government election than to have a hogwash arrangement which will produce only loyalists of the governor. They mentioned consensus list. Consensus by who?
He opined that the governor is trying to impose candidates on the people if the state in order to manipulate the delegate list to be used for the governorship primaries later in the year and he will work with other progressive-minded leaders of the party to resist the Governor.
“Elected local government officials will form a fraction of the delegates for governorship primaries. He thinks that some of us are dunces who will just accept the so-called consensus as fait accompli? It can’t and it won’t happen.
“The governor is not God and can’t play God. This is the truth and he himself knows this. He may have his wishes, which he is entitled to have. Other people have their wishes. But it is only God who can say with certainty that this is what he wants to do,” Shittu said.
Meanwhile, a suit filed in a Federal High Court, Abuja, by aggrieved members and leaders of the party has been slated for hearing on Tuesday, Sunday Tribune can reveal.
Joined in the suit are APC national headquarters; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).
It was gathered that OYSIEC was served in the morning of Wednesday, March 28, just as others who were joined in the suit.
