Group urges Ajimobi to rescind decision on Oyo APC tickets

GOVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has been advised to change his position, following the alleged imposition of candidates for elective positions within the State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Governor had, last Wednesday night, ordered all aspirants contesting the 14 federal constituency seats, the senatorial state House of Assembly elections, within the party to step down for his preferred choices.

Among the affected aspirants are three serving members of the House of Representatives, Honourable Temitope Sugar, Gbenga Ojoawo and Bosun Oladele, while others included Dr Fola Akinosun, Mr Bimbo Kolade and the son of the late Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao, Umar-Farouk, among others.

However, a group within the Oyo APC, Oyo Forward Movement, berated the governor for the imposition, saying that he was still in shock as to how Ajimobi arrived at his choices.

The coordinator of the group, Mr Saka Gbolahan, in a statement made available on Sunday to the TribuneOnline, “Most of the aspirants in Oyo APC are qualified. And as such, we believe that the only way we could have gone into the election without rancour is by allowing primaries. The winner would emerge and everybody would be happy.

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“In fact, if anybody is to be imposed, it should have been done in a manner that some elements of democracy would be put into use.

“Another point is that if there is anybody that should have been imposed, it should have been decided by leaders and major stakeholders. These are people who have stood with the party through thick and thin.

“The action of the Governor is not encouraging. Imposition will discourage people, especially the younger elements and those without connection, from taking part in nation building.

“Most of these aspirants have contested in the past and lost. They did not abandon the party, even during its trying times.

“This is how it started during the local government election. Candidates were imposed on party men, but because the election was conducted by OYSIEC, it was boycotted by the opposition.

“Few weeks after, our party lost a by-election in a council where we hitherto won a council election. It seems we have not learnt anything.”

The group, however, said it was not too late for the governor to change his mind, as its coordinator urged the governor to throw the ticket open and allow aspirants to go to the field.

“That will make everybody happy. The winner will know his strength, the losers will learn their lessons and go back to the drawing board,” Gbolahan added.