An interest group within the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, The Unity Forum, has charged the newly elected state executive committee members of the party to be ready to swing into action upon their inauguration and ensure that the governing APC retain power in 2019.
The group which consists of all the stakeholders in the party, except loyalists of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, was the arrowhead of the APC State Congress held at the mainbowl of the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan on Saturday in which 35 party faithful were elected by accredited delegates to run the affairs of the Oyo APC in the next four years.
The Unity Forum, in a statement issued on Monday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Secretary, Dr. Wasiu Olatubosun, congratulated the Alhaji Isiaka Alimi-led exco-elect and urged them “to leave no stone unturned in the task of restoring the full confidence of the electorate and the general public on the governing party.
“The whole world is aware of the fact that some undemocratic forces had almost succeeded in eroding the values of the APC in Oyo State before most stakeholders came together under the auspices of the Unity Forum on a rescue mission which has yielded positive results with the successful conduct of ward, local government and state congresses in accordance with the laid down guidelines.
“However, the leadership of the party at the center and President Muhammadu Buhari need to investigate the characters who attempted to compromise the smooth conduct of the congresses. This becomes imperative in view of the fact that congress committee teams were found to have succumbed to pressure from Gov. Ajimobi who also offered them heavy sums to do his bidding and thus subvert the wishes of thousands of genuine party faithful.
“That the governor has lost touch as a result of his high-handesness and undemocratic tendencies is evident but the newly elected state executive committee members should not be discouraged by the magnitude of the damage done to the APC by Gov. Ajimobi. Instead, they should bring all genuine faithful together and demonstrate the zeal to return the party to the path of constitutional democracy, responsible governance and respect for the masses.
“We are also using this opportunity to apologize to APC leaders, chieftains and members within and outside the state as well as members of the general public who might have fallen victim of impunity, deceit and high-handedness of the Ajimobi-led government since 2011 while we assure all and sundry of desirable redress very soon.” The statement added.
