A group, The Osun Progressive (TOP), has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to investigate the ward congresses that took place in Osun State last Saturday, which it describes as a “scam and sacrilege against democracy.”
It particularly rejected what it called the “white lie” told by Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, the chairman of the Ward Congress Committee, which it said was meant conceal the scam called congress.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Adelowo Adebiyi, the group accused the Governor Gboyega Oyetola-led Ilerioluwa faction of the APC, in connivance with chairman of the Ward Congress Committee, of compromising members of the Ward Congress Committee sent from the national secretariat of the party to conduct the party’s ward congress in the state.
“The press conference granted by Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye has exposed to a great extent how Governor Gboyega Oyetola-led Ilerioluwa faction of the APC has compromised members of the Ward Congress Committee sent from the national secretariat of the party to conduct party ward congress in the state last Saturday,” it alleged.
“Hon. Elegbeleye led-committee lied that they met stakeholders. We maintain that the governor camped the committee in the Government House preventing them from key stakeholders of the party.
“Our question is, how do you reach consensus without engaging groups containing the current secretary of the party, the former chairman of the party, the former speaker of the state and many more?” it asked.
The group also accused the Elegbeleye committee of lying about its claim that it screening participants.
Adebiyi said further: “We have it on record and with proof that the committee arrived Osun around 6pm on Friday evening. When and how could they have physically screened over 8000 applicants?” Adebiyi asked.
“Hon. Elegbeleye will do well to tell the whole world and produce the list of those who supervised the congress in each of the 332 wards other than the governor’s group, IleriOluwa, who were harassing and intimidating hapless party members in most wards where elections were held.
“It is intriguing that Elegbeleye supervised a sensitive assignment like the holding of Ward Congress without seeing or talking to the state party secretary who is the custodian of party documents and claimed that he had a successful assignment.
“It is surprising that Elegbeleye who on arrival in Osogbo met with only Governor Gboyega Oyetola and his loyalists inside the cosy atmosphere of the Government House and stayed the night in the 3-Star hotel in company of the infamous Senator Omisore and others would think rational human beings will listen to the scandalous lie he told at a structured press conference.”
The group, therefore, called on men of integrity running the APC in Abuja to reject whatever report brought to them by Elegbeleye, “who obviously abandoned the assignment he was sent to do and colluded with Governor Oyetola and his group, IleriOluwa, to do evil in the name conducting ward congress.
The group said it has proof of the many illegalities the governor has resorted to, in partnership with Hon Elegbeleye, to deny thousands of grassroots politicians their right to pick their representatives.
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