One of the contenders for the position of the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Abideen Olaiya, has revealed that he stepped down his aspiration for the unity of the party.
Prof Olaiya stated this in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday following his withdrawal from the race during the APC national convention which held on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Olaiya said his withdrawal came at the last minutes owing to the late intervention of party leaders and stakeholders.
He said: “In preparation for the 2022 APC National Convention, I obtained the expression of Interest and Nomination form for the office of National Secretary of our party which was zoned to the south west.
“My interest to occupy this seat was based primarily on my experience in politics over the years, knowing the importance of party politics and its involvement in installing good governance. More importantly was the unfortunate demise of two of our leaders in Oyo State, Lates Sen. Abiola Ajimobi and Chief Adebayo Akala which has left a big vacuum in APC Oyo State.
“Thereafter, I got the information that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR has requested and encouraged Governors and leaders from south west and other region to agree on consensus candidate for all position in the party. At this time, I was expecting intervention from our leaders on what step I should take. This did not come until the last-minute intervention at the convention ground.
“The process of consensus building I learnt was followed to the letter in case of Chairmanship aspirants while that of the Secretary was observed in the breach, hence the ugly scenario that came up last night.
“It is with great respect for the office and personality of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not to bring shame to the South west region that I made up my mind to withdraw from the race.
“At this juncture, I must acknowledge the effort of Hons. Rotimi Makinde, Ajibola Famurewa, Opeyemi Bamidele who were the first set of people who approached me to break the ice. Also, Alh. Akin Olajide, Oyo State Chairman Chief Isaac Omodewu and Hon Akeem Akogun were well appreciated which eventually led to intervention of our leader Chief Segun Osoba.
“In all, I wish the new executives a successful tenure and also reiterate the fact that we need to hold to principles and ethos of democracy for the party to engender good governance to Nigerian citizens, this is the only interest that is sustaining my interest in politics till date.”