Governor of Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun, says the plot by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the cabal in Lagos to hijack the state will not succeed.
Amosun fell out with the party’s national working committee (NWC) after it chose Dapo Abiodun as the state’s gubernatorial candidate. Abiodun Akinlade is his own preferred candidate.
Amosun, in a statement by Adedayo Adeneye, the state commissioner for information and strategy, said Oshiomhole’s refusal to recognize Akinlade was part of an evil plan with some collaborators desperate to hijack the government of Ogun state and add it to the harem of states under their rapacious gang of exploiters.
The governor said the emergence of Akinlade was initially through a consensus arrangement as allowed by the party’s constitution but was subjected to a primary election when some gubernatorial aspirants disagreed with the outcome of the consensus arrangement.
“Nigerians will recall that Oshiomhole himself was elected National Chairman of the APC by consensus arrangement which witnessed all other contestants to the office being prevailed upon to step down for him (Oshiomhole),” the statement read.
“The ground on which Oshiomhole disputes the gubernatorial primary in Ogun state is that the result was not announced by the electoral committee from Abuja, therefore the governor resorted to self-help.
“We wonder why Oshiomhole accepted the result of the primary election in Lagos state whose result was also not announced by the electoral panel. Why will the same scenario be acceptable in Lagos state but regarded as self-help in Ogun state? Is it because it was executed by the Capo Di Tutti in Lagos state?”
Amosun said despite the deadline given by INEC for the submission of names of candidates for the house of assembly, Oshiomhole was yet to submit the names to the electoral body.
“As at today November 03, which is 24 hours after the deadline for submission of names of candidates for the House of Assembly, Oshiomhole has not given INEC Party Candidate Form (CF001) to any of the 26 candidates who won the primaries for the ticket to contest for the Ogun State House of Assembly,” he said.
“If Oshiomhole is denying the outcome of the gubernatorial primaries because the State Electoral Committee shied away from announcing the result, what is the reason for denying all the 26 candidates for the House of Assembly freely elected by members of the APC in Ogun State?
“As we have stated before, this evil design will not succeed in Ogun State. Our people are too educated, exposed and sophisticated to come under such odious arrangement. On a general note, Oshiomhole, who became the APC chairman barely three months ago, is already threatening to write the epitaph of the party in his 100 days of ignominy.