Insight Oyo can authoritatively report that five of the nine members of the House of Representatives who are members of the Unity Forum of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, last night attended a meeting of the Forum of Representatives planning to decamp into the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Sources told Insight Oyo that although the nine members of the Unity Forum had been receiving invitation to the meeting of the group in the past few months, it was only yesterday that it was resolved that they should send representatives to the meeting.
It was gathered that the decision might not be unconnected with the swearing in of Chief Akin Oke as the Chairman of the APC in Oyo State by the National Working Committee of the party in Abuja yesterday.
Insight Oyo reliably gathered that when members of the House of Representatives who are members of the Unity Forum made futile efforts to stop the swearing-in of Chief Akin Oke as Chairman at the party secretariat yesterday, they retired to the residence of one of them where they made contacts with political leaders in their respective constituencies and the unanimous response of the elders is that they should begin to look for alternative platforms in Abuja.
A member, who spoke with Insight Oyo on condition of anonymity, said their fears that the elders would be reluctant to leave the APC was proved to be unfounded when elder after elder said they will rather join any viable platform for 2019 than work with Chief Akin Oke as Chairman.
“At the age of 80 and after 12 years as party chairman, what else does he have to offer”, queried a leader of the party from Oyo town. The leader reportedly explained that Oke had proved to be a stooge of Governor Ajimobi which is why the party is in shambles in Oyo State.
Another member of the House of Representatives said their pleadings that the elders should give the court process filed against Oke a trial fell on deaf years as the elders warned the members that if they don’t follow what their constituencies want, they will find out that they are soldiers without troops.
“We are at crossroads because leaving APC will expose us to some challenges in the House but we also run the risk of losing our supporters if we don’t listen to them. Time will tell”, said one of the members of the House.
