Some stakeholders of APC in Oyo State have warned against tampering with the authentic results of the ward congress conducted in the state on July 31.
The concerned party members who spoke under condition of anonymity raised the allegation in an interview with newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
According to them, some members of the party have perfected plans to substitute the authentic results of the congress at the party’s National Headquarters in Abuja.
According to a top official of the party in the state who craved anonymity, there are fears that the genuine results of the congress may be substituted at the national headquarters.
The source alleged that some persons who claimed to have conducted parallel congresses neither monitored by INEC officials nor sanctioned by the APC’s hierarchy had perfected plans to submit alternate results at the party’s national headquarters.
“History is about to repeat itself. Like it happened in 2019, fifth columnists are determined to ensure that the APC fail again in the 2023 general election in Oyo state
“These unpopular elements in the state, claiming to be members of the party, disobeyed the directive given by the APC’s National Caretaker-Committee chaired by the Yobe state governor, Mai-Mala Buni.
“You will recall that the committee directed all party members to return to the grassroots at the ward levels to elect their leaders through consensus.
“The real members converged on the wards to ensure the emergence of their party leaders through the consensus arrangement as directed by the party’s leadership.
“Some others, with no discernible presence at the ward levels, decided to write some names to be submitted at the APC national headquarters.
“These agents of confusion have boasted of their connections in high places, especially in our party’s headquarters in Abuja and have been going around town that their list would be accepted and adopted at the headquarters.
“But we hasten to caution that imposition of leaders at the ward level would be counter-productive as experienced in the 2019 general election when the APC, then the ruling party, lost to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in our state,’’ the source said.
The source noted that the Gambo Lawan’s Ward Congress panel had declared that the 351 congresses in Oyo state were transparently conducted and there was no single petition against the outcome of the exercise.
The source added that the panel equally affirmed that there was no report of any parallel congress anywhere in the state.
“We urge the National headquarters to be vigilant and ensure that those self-seeking politicians do not subvert the will of the people,’’ the source reiterated
It would be recalled that the APC leaders in Oyo state opted for consensus executives at the ward levels ahead of the congress held last Saturday.
The seven-member committee was constituted by the National Care-taker committee chaired by the Yobe state governor, Maia Mai-Buni.
The Gambo Lawan-led ward committee from the headquarters mandated to conduct congresses at the 351 wards in the state, had met with the leaders ahead of the APC nationwide ward congress held across the country last Saturday.
Lawan had said since the party was not contesting against the opposition in the state, the adoption of consensus executive at the ward level should be adopted in order to avoid misunderstanding and disagreement.
He noted that the APC lost the 2019 election in the state because there was no consensus and some persons put their personal interests above the party’s. (NAN)
