A group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Owo local government area of Ondo State, Integrity Network (IN) has cautioned some party leaders against misusing the party name for political gains.
The group clarified that the recent endorsement of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa by some APC members in Owo does not represent the entire party.
It claimed that, in addition to being financially induced, the APC members who gathered at the event hall in Owo on Monday belonged to a faction within the party that supports Aiyedatiwa.
In a statement signed by its APC coordinator, Comrade Samson Arokoyu highlighted that, like other aspirants, Aiyedatiwa has his supporters in Owo, but his endorsement was not unanimous among APC members.
Integrity Network also mentioned that Hon. Samuel Balogun, the APC Owo local government chairman who attended the event, reluctantly moved a motion for the governor’s endorsement.
It stated that video footage from the event revealed that he was pressured to do so by Hon. Adeyemi Olayemi, the Aiyedatiwa campaign coordinator in Owo.
The APC group further stated that the Owo APC leaders who attended the endorsement event were those who sided with Aiyedatiwa when he allegedly betrayed their late leader, former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN.
“There are APC leaders in Owo who are supporting Hon. Wale Akinterinwa, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Dr Paul Akintelure, Chief Olusola Oke, SAN, and Hon Mayowa Akinfolarin among other governorship aspirants. It is unacceptable that some leaders who are supporters of Aiyedatiwa would speak on behalf of other leaders as if their endorsement was unanimous.
“We all know that the former Chief of Staff, Chief Olugbenga Ale has been a staunch supporter of Aiyedatiwa even before his boss passed away. Engr. Femi Idris who is the Chairman of the local government commission has never hidden his support for Aiyedatiwa.
“However, I think we should be concerned if these people, who claimed that the APC in Owo and Ose have endorsed Aiyedatiwa, and leaders like the House of Representatives member, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe, the two State of Assembly members in Owo, Hon West Ogunmolasuyi, Hon Rennykay Witherspoon, Akeredolu’s former commissioner, Special Adviser, and others are absent,” the statement reads.
The group, however, lamented that it’s disheartening that we would see an APC leader in Owo who would publicly identify with Aiyedatiwa despite what the late Akeredolu went through at the hands of his Deputy.
