Ogun Council Poll: APC members flay imposition of candidates 

• Demands Governor’s intervention

Piqued by some desperate moves party leaders imposing candidates, irate members of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun state have greeted the unscrupulous development with  protests across board.

Some aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State who staged the protest appealed to the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to immediately save the party from an imminent crisis.

The party faithful, who expressed concern over the gale of imposition of candidates within the APC ahead of the July 24 local government elections in the state, said Governor Abiodun, as the overall leader of the party, must rise to the occasion and rescue it from the grip of self-serving individuals masquerading as leaders.

This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday, which was signed on behalf of the concerned APC members by Sonuga Ramoni, a leader and youth activist from the Ikenne Local Government Area of the state.

Sonuga alleged that the procedures adopted by some party leaders to choose chairmanship and councillorship candidates in Ikenne LGA and several other local government areas in the state were fraught with widespread irregularities and barefaced fraud.

He warned that failure to redress the injustice meted out to many genuine and committed aspirants within Ogun APC may spell doom for the ruling party in the nearest future.

Sonuga noted that though not all aspirants can emerge as party candidates for elections, the APC in the state would have been saved from needless strife and agitation if the popular will of the majority of party members and leaders was allowed to prevail in the selection process.

He said, “We need to let the whole world know that the procedures adopted by some leaders of the party in many wards and local government areas grossly fell short of the directive by the governor for candidates to emerge either through consensus or primaries.

“Rather than abide by the directive of the governor in the overall interest of APC members, some desperate party leaders have been imposing candidates to the detriment of our great party. This development has inevitably caused agitations and protests across board.

“We are, therefore, concerned that if the agitations occasioned by the undemocratic selection of chairmanship and councillorship candidates are not looked into, it may spell doom for our party. Certainly, what we abhor is disintegration of the party.

“Our amiable governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, should please intervene and address the widespread irregularities in the primaries.”