Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the rescheduled ward congress of the All Progressives Congress held across the state on Sunday.
The governor’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Bolaji Tunji, in a statement issued on Sunday in Ibadan, quoted Ajimobi as saying that feelers from the five zones of the state suggested that the exercise went without hitches.
Ajimobi described Saturday’s disturbances at the APC state secretariat, which forced the postponement of the congress till Sunday, as expected in a political gathering of highly placed political leaders with vested interests.
He said: “Followers and supporters of leaders have been known to instigate crisis in their bid to outdo one another and to impress their principals who often time were never in support of such violent conducts.
“The reports I have heard so far across the state indicate that the congress went peacefully without any form of acrimony or rancour.
“As the leader of the APC in the state, I’m also father to all and that informed my conciliatory moves.
“No good father will stand aloof while his children are at loggerheads. Thank God all have been settled now and we have had a peaceful outing today (Sunday).
“As the leader and father to all, I was able to douse the tension that enveloped the party secretariat on Saturday when our supporters were trying to outdo one another.
“All the APC leaders that came for the stakeholders’ meeting were well protected.”
He described the APC as one large family, adding that there may be diverse interests.
He said: “I will continue to sue for peace among our leaders and followers because that is the cardinal programme and achievement of our administration.
“Our party and administration are known for peace and that must be sustained.”
The governor also debunked some reports which claimed that the incident at the APC secretariat was ‘bloody”, describing this as an exaggeration.
Ajimobi said that none of the security agencies reported any case of bloody violence, advising political leaders to refrain from heating up the polity with their utterances.
Meanwhile, the APC in the state has commended the Ward Congress Committee led by Alhaji Musa Halilu- Ahmed for the professional way it conducted the exercise.
The party gave the commendation in a statement issued by Mojeed Olaoya, the State Secretary.
The party also commended members across the 351 wards of the state for their orderliness in the discharge of their onerous responsibility to elect new executives that would pilot the affairs of the party in the next four years.
It said: “It gladdens our heart that the congress went smoothly and was very successful across all the 351 wards without any skirmishes or violence.”
Olaoya said that all the 351 ward congresses were monitored by INEC officials and all the security agents to authenticate the exercise.
The party advised members of the party to always embark on initiatives that would promote the unity of the party.
He said: “It is surprising that they could be passing on lies that some aspirants did not pay for nomination and that there were fake nomination forms in circulation.
“The claim is spurious and unfounded. They are calling the integrity of top APC members deployed in Oyo for the exercise to question. This is not good for the image of our party in Oyo State.”
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