APC

Ogun APC breaks logjam  concede option to Gov Amosun

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By Alabi Ariyo,senior correspondent

Just as some state chairmen of the All Progressive Congress(APC),were holed up in an Abuja hotel to plot strategy aimed at setting aside the decision of the party National Executive Council( NEC) on the adoption of Direct primaries for the emergence of its candidates in the forthcoming general elections,the Ogun state branch of the party which on Sunday in Abeokuta, the state capital also met for hours without reaching a compromise, a few hours ago broke the logjam by conceding the option between Direct and Indirect mode to Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

The meeting which had in attendance the members of the state exco and the representatives of the state governor,held in Abeokuta the state capital and was dominated by heated argument on the two sides to the elections,

While some canvassed the adoption of direct primaries as directed by the partys NEC others instead opted for an indirect system which they think would be less rancorous and easy to be managed since that has always been the system adopted by most parties since the return to democracy in 1999.

However ,as at the time of filing this report sources close to the party revealed to Newdawn that the reconvened meeting few hours ago, had at last mandated the state governor, Governor Ibikunle Amosun , to adopt the type of primary between the two options best suited for the party in the state .

However, the party exco failed to reach a compromise as to which of the two contending senatorial districts- Ogun east and Ogun West which ironically had not ruled the state since its creation in 1976should take the slot among its army of aspirants.

Another issue is the contention of the party members from Ogun east which members are claiming arguement that  Governor Amosun had taken the slot of the Ogun west in2011 after he emerged as the candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria.’

This argument was punctured by the party members for the Ogun west who had maintained that since the state has three senatorial zones it is only appropriate that the zone which had not produce the state and fair play.

Besides the issue of which zone to produce the next governorship candidate of the party another issue which divided the exco and would be resolved later in another meeting today is the choice of the party among the almost twenty aspirants justling for the slot.

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In Ogun west alone, the party had eleven aspirants;, and recently the Ogun west elders council met last week Thursday August 30th, in Ilaro,the political capital of zone the  to prune the numbers to a reasonable  with the promise that each of the aspirants who should sign an undertaking to abide by the consensus candidate picked among them.

After the meeting the Elders,Newdawn sources revealed that the aspirants  made 5 commitments,

1To accept the verdict of the council as to their aspiration,

  1. Not to challenge such verdict either in court of defect from the APC
  2. To line up behind whoever is picked by the Elders and work for his victory both at the the party primaries and at the general election.
  3. If the person picked eventually wins the 2019 election such a winner is to adequately compensate all the others who cooperated with him for his victory.
  4. The aspirants believed that  victory is certain if they team up at primaries and the general election.

The elders are to meet later this week to shortlist two candidates among the eleven for the party in the state.

Among the leading aspirants are Prince Aderibigbe Tella , a young businessman from Ilaro and the incumbent speaker of the state house of assembly, Mr Suraju Adekunbi while the Chief of staff to the governor and son of a first republic minister,senator Jonathan Odebiyi, Chief Tolu Odebiyi, is believed to have the strong backing of the Governor. .

 

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