It’s no more news that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State conducted its primary, in preparation for the October 15 local government election, but the outcome of the poll is a source for concern to stakeholders, especially in Ifelodun North LCDA.
This is as a result of the manipulation perpetrated by the electoral committee sent to conduct the primary for Ifelodun North LCDA, which has created rancour within the ranks and files of the APC, including the party’s faithful, who are not comfortable with the antidemocratic act, which is capable of dividing the party the more, hence may affect its chances in future elections.
Reports indicate that the screening conducted by the 5-Man Committee, set up by the party secretariat in the state, and headed by Hon Folorunso Oladoyin, on Wednesday, September 7, went well and the incumbent scribe of Ifelodun North LCDA, Hon Segun Abioye, scored the highest mark, followed by Hon Adeniyi Olaniyan, who got the second position during the exercise. Olaniyan is incumbent chairman of the council and the son of Elende of Eko-Ende, Hon. Adeniyi Olaniyan, while one Ibrahim Wasiu came third.
It was learnt that Hon. Ibrahim Wasiu was later asked to step down as instructed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, who said he didn’t want more than two aspirants to contest primary. Recall that nine aspirants were earlier in the race before two of them decided to voluntarily step down, while the remaining seven participated in the screening exercise.
After the screening, stakeholders came together to have a common ground, where they agreed on working for Hon. Segun Abioye, who came first and after Ibrahim Wasiu had agreed to step down for Hon. Abioye, in the interest of equity. He is from ward 7 and had once been the council chairman and he believes it should be the turn of ward 8 to produce the next chairman, which made him and seven other aspirants to mobilize party members together on Saturday, September 17, to ensure that Hon. Abioye emerge at the primary.
Insiders source from the APC in Ifelodun North LCDA told our reporter on condition of anonymity, over the fear of intimidation, that card carrying members of the party were at the various polling units at Wards 6, 7A, 7B, 8 and 12 that make up of Ifelodun North LCDA, with one voice to vote for Hon. Segun Abioye, but the electoral committee from the state Secretariat claimed that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola did not send them to conduct election, rather they were sent to coerce party members to endorse the candidature of Adeniyi Olaniyan, because his father, the Elende of Eko-ende, is Mr Governor’s friend.
Another source from the party told our reporter that Prince Adeniyi Olaniyan did not bother to go to Eko-ende on Saturday, September 17, for the primary because he had been assured of automatic ticket, against the wish of the party members, across all the wards earlier mentioned.
Results from three out of the five wards indicate that Hon Segun Abioye won the primary, as there was no election in ward 6 and 12, due to crisis that occurred when the electoral committee attempted to impose unpopular aspirant (Adeniyi Olaniyan) for affirmation, which the part members rejected outrightly.
However, at Ward 7A, Hon. Segun Abioye scored 255 votes while Hon. Adeniyi Olaniyan scored zero. The story was the same at Ward 7B, where Abioye had
255 votes and Olaniyan nil; just as Abioye equally won at ward 8, with 260 vote, against Olaniyan, who scored 10 votes. The final results indicates that Hon. Segun Abioye scored 770 votes while Hon Adeniyi Olaniyan had just 10 votes
Online videos showed members of the APC in all the five wards in Ifelodun North LCDA, who were at their various polling units to vote for the candidate of their choice (i.e Hon. Segun Abioye) expressing their grievances at the action of the electoral committee, who were sent to conduct APC primary in the council area, for refusing to follow the tenets of democracy.
Though, reports have it that Hon Segun Abioye had appeared before the appeal committee, set up to look into their grievances, headed by a former speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Prof Mojeed Alabi, with the same Hon. Folorunso Oladoyin as secretary, he could not be reached to speak with newsmen on his next line of action, if the committee did not do justice.
However, many of aggrieved APC members in Ifelodun North LCDA are now considering decamping to the PDP en masse, if they can not get justice from the party they have been laboured for, all this while.
It was gathered that all the party leaders in the council area, including the pioneer speaker of Osun state House of Assembly, Hon.Wale Afolabi; a former commissioner one in the local government service commission, Alhaji Kehinde Olamolu; an ex chairman board of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Kola Akanji; immediate past commissioner in the state univesal basic education board, SUBEB, Chief Moshood Adekunle Oluawo (Moshadek); Incumbent Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Babatunde Olawale; a current members, Osun state University Teaching Hospital’s Board, Arch Lekan Usman, and a former majority leader of the house and immediate past chairman, House of Assembly Service Commission, Hon. Hassan Olawuwo, among others, are all with the most popular candidate, Hon. Segun Abioye, who won the screening and subsequently the primary.
