July 16: Protest Votes Imminent In Osun APC

 

Ismaeel Uthman

GOVERNOR Adegboyega Oyetola might find it difficult to mobilise majority members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to vote for him on July 16, 2022 governorship election in the State of Osun.

This is a result of the dissatisfaction of the APC members on the party’s primaries to produce State and National Assembly candidates in each of the State and Federal Constituencies.

Manipulation and imposition of candidates characterized the primaries, a development that have resulted to protests from members of the APC.  

Some members of the party threatened to take their own pounds of flesh from Oyetola on the election day for imposing candidates on them. 

It would be recalled that the APC held its controversial primaries for the State Assembly and House of Representatives on Thursday, May 26 and Friday, May 27 respectively.  

OSUN DEFENDER noted that there was no security officers, Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, accreditation, election materials, party register, result sheets, among others in every local government where the purported primaries took place. 

In some wards where the direct primary took place under a high compromised system, the votes scored by each of the aspirants were recorded on a plain sheet of paper. 

The medium gathered that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and few of his loyalist in the IleriOluwa group, had penciled down the names of aspirants to be used as the party’s candidates in each of the state and federal constituencies. 

Findings revealed that APC local government chairmen were asked to submit a doctored result of the primary in each of the local government to the Government House. 

As at the time of filing this report, the APC leadership has refused to declare winners of the primaries in each of the state and federal constituencies. 

Delegates Refuse To Sign Blank Result Sheets

Some members of the All Progressives Congress who are delegates in each of the local government of the State on Tuesday said they rejected a move by the party leadership to impose House of Assembly and National Assembly candidates on them.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the delegates who were called to the Government House on Tuesday morning were asked to sign blank result sheets for the State and National Assemblies primaries in their various local government.

But the delegates reportedly refused to sign the blank result sheets, asking the State Chairman of the party, Prince Gboyega Famodun, to declare who the party chose as candidate in each of the state and federal constituencies.

But Famodun refused to disclose the candidates of the party for the State and National Assembly, insisting that the delegates must sign the result sheets.

Some of the delegates who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER said they thought the party leadership wanted to tell them the outcome of the primary elections in their various constituencies.

However, their expectations were dashed as they were reportedly asked to sign blank results sheets, a development that infuriated the about 500 delegates.

The delegates threw decorum into the wind to register their grievances about the move, describing it as undemocratic.

One of the delegates said: “The party Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun asked us to sign documents, which supposedly is the results sheets, but no names were on it. We refused to sign the result because we sensed that they wanted to impose people on us, and signing the blank result sheets will give them the opportunity of perfecting the imposition plot.”

The development suggested that the party leadership was attempting to change the primary mode into indirect, having failed to achieve its aim on the direct primary system. 

Speaking with the medium, another delegate said: “We the delegates did not vote in the primary. We held direct primary elections. Why asking us to sign results sheets? They are thieves. They want to manipulate the results and we will continue to resist that.”

At the meeting was the Director General of Oyetola’s Campaign Council, Dr Ajibola Basiru, a former Director General of IleriOluwa campaign, Hon. Ajibola Famurewa and Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Affairs, Sunday Akere, among others.

But Akere dismissed the delegates’ claim, saying nobody presented them with blanket documents to sign.

He said: “They were only invited to come and ratify the results which some of them are ready to do but were disturbed to do so by those who perceived their chances were not auspicious in the exercise.”

Egbedore APC Chairman Beaten Inside Govt House

The Chairman of the APC in Egbedore Local Government, Mr Fawande Oluwole was beaten inside the Government House, Osogbo on Thursday, May 26 evening by supporters of the lawmaker representing Egbedore State Constituency, Hon. Ibirogba Eleniyan. 

Oyewole who confirmed the attack on him to OSUN DEFENDER in a telephone interview yesterday, accused Eleniyan of leading his supporters to beat him when he was about to submit the result of the House of Assembly primary in the local government. 

The APC Chairman said he was attacked because Eleniyan thought that he had lost the primary to his opponent.

He said: “May 26 was the primary election for House of Assembly aspirants in Osun. Ward Chairmen were saddled with the responsibility of conducting the primary. My duty as the APC Local Chairman was just to collate the result and take it to the situation room at Government House in Osogbo. 

“After the collation of the result, the local government party secretary, Salam Rasak and I took the result to the government house. But I was attacked by the lawmaker representing Egbedore State Constituency, Hon. Ibirogba Eleniyan who thought he had lost the election. 

“Eleniyan was told that there was no primary election in a ward at Ido-Osun, whereas there was election there. I was not the one that conducted the election, it was the ward chairman. It was the result submitted to me by the ward party chairmen that I took to the Government House. 

“The impression that there was no election in the ward led Eleniyan to organise his people to waylay me at the Government House. I was beaten by them. Their allegation was that I doctored the result of the election. Unknowingly for Eleniyan and his people, he was the one that won the primary in the result with me. but his impression was that I was working for another aspirant. 

“I was rescued and taken to the hospital by my people – Hon. Funsho Oyewunmi, Tobi Omolaoye, Fatai Olaore, among others. 

“I have dumped the party for now but I have not written a letter to that effect.” 

Police Teargas Aggrieved APC Members At Famodun’s House

There was pandemonium at the Osogbo residence of Osun APC Chairman, Famodun, as police operatives dispersed some aggrieved members of the party who stormed the area to protest the alleged manipulation of primary election results in Ila/Ifedayo/Boluwaduro federal constituency held last week Friday.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the aggrieved APC members were led by a House of Reps aspirant in the federal constituency, Mr Ismail Kolawole.

Kolawole and his supporters said the party rigged the election in favour of Commissioner for Tourism, Adebisi Obawale, who was declared winner after the former House of Reps member had reportedly won the primary.

The protesters threatened to leave the party if its leadership refused to allow the will of the people prevail on the federal constituency primary. 

However, the protesters were dispersed by the police who fired teargas to them. 

State, National Assembly Primaries A Sham – Aspirants 

 Some State and National Assembly aspirants of the APC in the State have jointly called for the cancellation of the House of Assembly and National Assembly primary elections of the party, describing it as a sham. 

The aspirants, who include ten House of Assembly and two House of Representatives aspirants, accused Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of impunity and total disregard to democratic principles on the conduct of the primaries. 

According to the aspirants, the direct primaries was conducted without any election material or party document like membership register, result sheets, among others. 

The aspirants are: Hon. Waseeu Gbola Adebayo (Olorunda State Constituency) Mr Owoade Ademola Adeyemi (Irewole/Isokan State Constituency), Mr Wahab Kazeem Olanrewaju (Ifelodun State Constituency), Mr Babalola Iqmal Opeyemi (Ede South State Constituency) and Mr. Kolawole Olalere Victor (Ilesa East State Constituency

Others are: Mrs. Adesola Arawole Adegbite (Odo-Otin State Constituency), Mr. Olaoye Abdulhakeem (Osogbo State Constituency), Mrs. Olaniyi Shariat Olanike (Ayedaade State Constituency), Mr Kasali Nurudeen Adelaja (Iwo State Constituency), Mr Opadola Abdullahi Amobi (Olaoluwa State Constituency), Hon. (Dr) Mr. Komolafe Akinlabi Richard (Ijesha-South Federal Constituency) and Mr Ibrahim Oyekunle (Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan Federal Constituency).

Addressing a press conference on Monday, the aspirants said results of the primaries were not announced at the various ward and local government collation centres by the factional APC Ward Chairmen who were appointed as Collation Officers by Oyetola.

They claimed the result sheet of each of the State and Federal constituencies were kept in the Government House where the ‘Governor’s people’ were allocating figures to their preferred aspirants. 

According to the aspirants, the failure of the party leadership to declare winner of the State House of Assembly and Federal House of Representatives primaries in each constituency was as a result of the fraud and manipulation of the results as directed by the Governor.

Reading the text of the press conference, Hon Adeboye, a two-term state lawmaker, said: “On behalf of other aspirants to the State House of Assembly and National Assembly positions, we wish to bring to the fore, indeed the attention of the whole world, the charade and sham that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and his ilk called primary elections in the state. 

“An autocratic and dictatorial regime couldn’t do worse in dragging democracy on the floor than what Governor Oyetola and his collaborators have done on the House of Assembly and National Assembly primaries of our party. The late dark goggle general didn’t bring as much odium to democracy as Governor Oyetola.

“Our people were at the various collation centres and nothing was happening until around 5pm when some factional Ward Chairmen from the Governor’s camp surfaced, claiming to be the Presiding Officer for the primary election. These chairmen did not come to the collation centres with any electoral materials like APC membership register, results sheets, e.t.c. They just asked the party members to raise up their membership cards, queue and without any proper accreditation, did the counting, wrote the results on a PIECE OF PAPER and left. 

“Even with such fraudulent and reprehensible conduct, our supporters were more than those of our opponents and we had the highest number. In some wards, there was no counting of APC members at all. 

“May we note that with the high level of impunity and manipulations involved in the process and shenanigans engaged to get rid of us, the joke has now turned on Governor Oyetola’s group, as all its aspirants in various constituencies are laying claims to victory and confirming it with concocted figures aimed to suite their fraud. 

“It is unheard of, even a shameful experience, that four and three days after the primaries have been held, the Governor and his collaborators in the party are unable to declare winner in the contests.

 “Therefore, we call on His Excellency, the National Chairman of our party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu to use his good office to correct the current act of impunity and rape of democracy being displayed by Governor Gboyega Oyetola before it is too late.”