The crisis rocking the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has continued to get deeper as The Osun Progressives alleged the State Chairman of the party, Gboyega Famodun and the State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola of manipulating the membership register ahead of the party congresses.
The group loyal to former Governor Rauf Aregbesola made this accusation in Osogbo on Thursday during a meeting of the group.
Chairman of TOP, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi, who read the press statement said the group is worried that the materials for registration were hijacked by the state government and that those materials are still at the Government House. The group added that only members of the party loyal to the IleriOluwa group have access to materials.
TOP called on the National leadership of the party to reject the party register from Osun.
Adebiyi said, “The fact is that the recently concluded party membership revalidation and registration were malevolently manipulated against perceived non members of IleriOluwa group, which belong to Governor Gboyega Oyetola. The leadership of Osun APC shamelessly ceded its responsibility to the government appointees who hoarded the registration materials and were carrying out the registration in their different homes.
“However, these irresponsible actions were not enough for the selfish elements whom the party abdicated its responsibility to as they shamelessly took further manipulative steps to load the register. Information has it that government appointees printed more registration materials and engaged some youths to be filling the slips and the register with fictitious names and affix it with any available passport photographs. This is said to have lasted for as much as three weeks after the official closure of the process.
“As we speak, reliable sources said the register; even to the extent of its manipulation is still in the Okefia Government House, Osogbo. When the Punch came up with its report few days back, it confirmed our “Bush Radio” report and was nothing new in real terms.
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“With this situation whereby only the restricted number of party members belonging to the Governor’s group, Ileri Oluwa that had their hearts content in the last registration shows compromise of the Osun APC register and ought to be rejected by the APC National leadership, if fairness, equity and justice will be well served in the coming congress and any other purposes that the register will serve.
“Indeed, the Osun Progressives (TOP) call for a rejection of the document as presently composed by your highly esteemed and respected committee so that the desperate and selfish elements who do not care what happens to the party will not stain your reputation and take Osun APC to the precipice.
“The Osun Progressives indeed want the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Committee to please send only people of high integrity as the State Congress committee to Osun, so that level playing ground could be provided for all and sundry. It is clear that only people with dispassionate outlook towards the complicated issues in Osun APC can do justice and help the party to be re-engineered, re-energised and refocused.”
The group also accused the party leadership in the State of causing disunity among the members.
Adebiyi said, “There is no cohesion within the party to the extent that members are in the dark about what the government which they worked to install. Not only that they didn’t know what was going on but the leadership of the party deliberately precluded them. We recall that we have stated some details in an earlier communication, the extent of rot which present leadership has brought on the party, so we are not going to dwell on that now.”
When contacted, the Director of Research and Publicity of the APC in Osun State, Kunle Oyatomi promised to get back to our reporter on the issues raised. He has not done that as at the time of filing this report.
