TheCable

Some youth groups of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun have protested an alleged plan by Gboyega Oyetola, the governor, to hijack the party’s congress in the state.

The youths, who embarked on demonstrations in the state on Friday, said the committee sent to the state to conduct the congresses from Abuja has been kept in an isolated place, and away from the reach of party stakeholders.

Speaking with journalists, Adelowo Adebiyi, chairman of the Osun Progressives, said there is no sign that the congress will hold in the state.

“We also put on record that you have assisted us to use a press release where we reported that the national secretariat officers sent to Osogbo were hijacked, ambushed and kept from being accessed by other stakeholders in the party,” Adebiyi said.

“By inference, [the party in the state] did not sell a single form to all other interested parties within the APC.

“When the Osun Progressives (TOP) got to it’s wits end in getting the forms from those sent from Abuja, we procured the forms directly from the national secretariat by substituted means.

“Hitherto, the governor’s group, IleriOluwa, had boasted all over the place that it was going to have a consensus of returning all members of the outgoing executives.”

Another group known as the Progressive Youth Movement, said Oyetola and Gboyega Famodun, chairman of the Osun caretaker committee, are “clearly killing APC in the state of Osun.”

“Our party at the national level has sent committee members led by one Abdullahi down to Osun since last week Saturday to begin sales of form and preparation for the congress. But ever since they arrived, the committee members are nowhere to be found,” Rasheed Raji, the group’s leader said.

“They are not either at the state party secretariat or any other place carrying out their national duty. Thousands of our members have paid for the nomination forms to participate in the ward congress but were not given forms.”

In a statement, Rasheed Ropo of the APC Progressive Youth Movement said the governor is about to disenfranchise thousands of members of the state from participating in the process.

“As we speak, the governor has hijacked the ward congresses process, illegally camping APC congress committees using the DSS thereby denying thousands of party members from accessing congress forms all in the name entrenching division of the party,” Ropo said.

“The governor and the caretaker chairman have over the last few days; camped ward congress committee members under security surveillance.

“Bullied and threatened ward congress committee members using security forces.”