Osun ward congress: Panel may recommend reconciliation

EFFORTS by a faction loyal to former Osun State governor and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, to take over the All Progressives Congress (APC) structures in the state ahead of next year governorship election appears to have failed.

Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that the Ambassador Obed adzani-led five man ward congress appeal panel put in place by the ruling party national secretariat has dismissed the petition filed by the The Osun Progressives (TOP).

The group is being led by former chairman of the party in the South-West, Reverend Adelowo Adebiyi. The panel in its report sighted by Nigerian Tribune, which has since been submitted to the APC Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) dismissed the petitions filed by the TOP, as it noted that they could not be substantiated. The Ambassador Wadzani panel, in its report, maintained that the Ward Congress Committee led by Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye complied with the party guidelines in the discharge of the assignment it was saddled with by the Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni-led CECPC.

“The positions canvassed by the petitioners are considered by this committee to be unfounded. The guidelines issued by the national secretariat were complied with by the ward congress committee and the Osun State Caretaker Committee. Therefore, all the petitions should be dismissed.” The five-man Appeal Panel equally frowned at what it called duplication of petition by the leadership of the TOP group.

It observed that “All the petitions submitted are the same in wordings, contents, and structure except local governments and wards,” thereby giving the impression that “all the petitions are written by one person.”

The panel further noted that all the petitions submitted “are from ten local governments – thirty wards (submitted to the national secretariat of the party), four wards submitted to the congress appeal committee in Osogbo. It follows therefore that twenty local governments (out of thirty local governments), two hundred and ninety-eight wards (out of three hundred thirty-two wards) are not contested.”

In addition to asking the CECPC to dismiss the petition by the factional group, the Appeal Panel however urged the national secretariat of the APC to “set in motion the process for reconciliation of all those that are aggrieved within the party in the state in view of the elections coming up in the state next year, which is a forerunner to the presidential election in 2023.”

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the ward appeal panel had disclosed in the course of its assignment that it received 32 petitions from party members across the state.

Last week, the Ambassador Wadzani Committee was almost undermined as thugs stormed the party national secretariat to disrupt the committee from executing its assignment.

Meanwhile, the appeal committee of the APC, for the ward congress in Ogun State, on Wednesday, disclosed that it received three petitions from aggrieved party members. The chairman of the fiveman committee, Mr Segun Ojo, while addressing the press before meeting with aggrieved members said, that they have listened carefully to all the petitioners and those in defence.

He told newsmen that a petitions were received from Senators Tolu Odebiyi and Lekan Mustapha, both representing Ogun West and East in the National Assembly; elected party chairmen in 2018 and some members of the congress committee.