Osun APC, PDP Reconciliatory Moves Settle Primaries’ Crises

 

By Mariam Bello

The programmes and policies put forward, as well as antecedents of political parties’ candidates would determine the number of votes they would garner during the September 22 governorship election, as the dusts raised by the primary elections are beginning to settle.

While the APC is reportedly beginning to record success on its move to reconcile its aggrieved members, the PDP is also making headway in the same direction.

The state deputy Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Azeez Adesiji and some other members of the executive who had allegedly left the party were said to have returned to work for the success of the party, just as the major rival of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi who has been contesting the result of the primary election was also reported to have been reconciled.

Adesiji was part of the meeting of the state Executive Council of the party with its flag bearer on Tuesday, while others, according to a source within the party were being appeased, with the prospect that many of them would return.

Even though, some of the aggrieved members of the two parties like Alhaji Moshood Adeoti who defected from the APC to the ADP and Alhaji Fatai Akinbade who defected from the PDP to the ADC and some others were seen to be irreconcilable, some political watchers believe that their decisions would not have major impact on the election.

A statement from the office of the APC chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun on Tuesday said the party has successfully re-united after what he described as a robustly contested July 20 primary election to pick a governorship flagbearer for the party.

According to him, “the ‘frayed nerves have cooled, dissenting members of the executive have returned to their duty posts and the body is again united”.

“We can now inform party members and our teeming supporters in the state and beyond that the APC executive in Osun is back, fully united in business, and reinvigorated to pursue our collective goal of decisively winning the governorship election in September as a united force.

“Sometimes in presidential democracies worldwide,  primaries are usually very contentious and can even create divisions, but they hardly ever end up breaking the party”, the APC chairman argued.

According to the chairman, “the heat and squabble generated during the process usually simmer down as the party heals its bruises and restores unity for the real contest – in this case, the governorship election, which is less than eight weeks away.

“We are now eminently positioned to go into the contest with renewed strength and determination, not only to defeat all opposition but also to ensure that the progress, which Osun has experienced in the last 90 months will continue”, Famodun emphasised.

The state deputy chairman, Alhaji Adesiji who was the leader of the aggrieved party executive confirmed to OSUN DEFENDER on telephone that the difference within the party executive at the state level have been resolved.

He said, he has never at any point said that he was leaving for any other party, , saying “Only what I said then was that I am the Acting Chairman of the APC and that one has been vacated now, I remain the state deputy chairman. It means we have resolved.

“The differences within the party exco at the state level have been resolved. That does not jeopardized the interest of an individual within the exco.

“We said it at the meeting that the excos and the party are not well treated, we told the party’s candidate but the issues of suspension and the rest have been resolved, we have laid down our grievances, that we cannot be a party to a resolution we were not informed about and that has been settled”, Adesiji stressed.

From the PDP fold, it was learnt that the party leaders have calmed the frayed nerves and successfully prevailed on Ogunbiyi and his supporters and subsequently compensated.

While Ogunbiyi was said to have been asked to nominate a running mate to Senator Adeleke, he was also said to have been assured an automatic ticket for the Senatorial Seat of Osun West in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Action Democratic Party (ADP), its governorship candidate, Moshood Adeoti and his supporters were reported to have strengthened their mobilization strategy to have a significant impact in the election, as some supporters of the party were heard boasting that they now have the financial muscle to prosecute the election.

Also, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore is also moving massively to make significant impact at the election.