Our Correspondent, Osogbo

Youths and women under the aegis of Progressive Youth Movement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have accused Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the state and Caretaker Chairman of the party, Prince Gboyega Famodun of committing electoral fraud ahead of tomorrow’s ward congress.

The youths who staged a protest on the busy Gbongan-Ibadan road, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo, on Saturday July 30, 2021, alleged that Oyetola and Famodun hijacked the nomination forms brought by some national officials of the APC.

The Protesters who carried placards with inscriptions as: ‘we want free and fair congress‘; ‘Famodun don’t destroy Osun APC’; ‘Don’t kill the party in Osun’; further alleged that national officials of the party who came to Osogbo, the state capital last week Saturday were camped at a hotel under security surveillance.

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They added that they were barred from relating with any other members of the party in the state.

Speaking at the secretariat, one of the leaders of the group, Mr Rasheed Raji said: “We are here to protest the electoral fraud being committed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the APC Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun. The two leaders of the party are clearly killing APC in the State of Osun.

The protesters in Osogbo on Saturday

“Our party at the national level 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, they are not either at the State Party Secretariat or any other place carrying out their national duty.

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“Thousands of our members have paid for the nomination forms to participate in the ward congress but were not given form. Only members of Governor Oyetola’s group, IleriOluwa were given form. This is a plan to manipulate the congress. The National Secretariat of our party should know this.”

“We wanted to take our protest to the State Secretariat of our party but the Governor has stationed political thugs there. They planned to attack us and we do not want bloodshed. But our voice will be heard. We don’t want consensus in Osun and the congress committee should be allowed to do its job,” he said.

Also speaking, Mrs. Opeyemi Adetipe who condemned what she described as brazen balkanization of the party by Governor Oyetola and Famodun, further accused them of intimidating and harassing members of the party who do not belong to their camp.

Adetipe said the alleged hijacking of the nomination forms by the duo was an evidence of the politics of division and self destruction being played by both the Governor and the party chairman.

They therefore called on the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to intervene in the matter and ensure that there is free and fair ward congress in the state.

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They further called on national leaders of the party to rescue the soul of Osun APC and its members from Governor Oyetola and Famodun.

“We are supposed to go to the party Secretariat but they have stationed thugs there. The Governor is intimidating every member of the party who does not belong to his group, IleriOluwa,” they lament.