Following the imposition of candidates for elective positions within the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, some party members have advised Governor Abiola Ajimobi to change his position.
Ajimobi had on Wednesday night ordered all aspirants contesting the 14 federal constituency seats to step down for his preferred choices. Those contesting senatorial and state assembly elections were not spared.
Notable among the victims of imposition are three serving members of the House of Representatives, Honorables Temitope Sugar, Gbenga Ojoawo, Bosun Oladele; Dr Fola Akinosun, Hon. Bimbo Kolade, son of the late Aare Arisekola, Umar-Farouk among others,
Speaking under the aegis of Oyo Forward Movement, its coordinator, Mr Saka Gbolahan berated the governor for the imposition, saying that he was still in shock as to how Ajimobi arrived at his choices.
According to him, “Most of the aspirants in Oyo APC are qualified. And as such, we believe that the only way we could have gone into election without rancour is by allowing primaries. The winner would emerge and everybody would be happy.
“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 those 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 partymen 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,” he explained.
Saying that it is not too late for the governor to change his mind, the group 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,” he added.
