Peace appears to have returned to the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the intervention of two paramount rulers, Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, and Alake of Egabland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, with the feuding factions closing ranks ahead of the registration of party members, which begins nationwide on Wednesday.
The peace deal was sealed in Abeokuta on Monday when Ogun State National Assembly members opposed to Senator Ibikunle Amosun attended a joint briefing with the registration committee members. The National Assembly members are loyalists of a national leader of the APC, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
An earlier meeting between Osoba and Amosun at the Ijebu Ode palace of the Awujale with the Alake in attendance ended in a stalemate. The monarchs followed up through an interaction with the National Assembly members. It was on Sunday night at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta that all parties agreed to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.
A source close to the leadership of the party revealed that, “For now, Amosun has done very well, because I believe he wants to prove to everybody that Chief Osoba remains the leader of the party. The governor asked Chief Osoba to produce two of the three names to assist the Registration Committee Chairman and Secretary, these are Ogun East and Ogun West Senatorial Districts. He kept Ogun Central for himself. I am also aware he has directed that the list of polling booth registration officers be harmonized so that we can have a hitch-free registration exercise.”
Chairman of Ogun State APC Registration Committee, Hon. Niyi.Fabikun, while addressing the gathering said his committee would not do anything outside the modalities laid down by the national leadership of the party, also assuring that the exercise would be conducted without problems.
He said, “In states where we have APC governors, the governor in full consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall nominate a member from each senatorial district in the state who will together with the Chairman and Secretary function as the State Registration Supervisory Committee.”
Amosun expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and vowed to ensure hitch-free registration of party members. The governor also said the meeting was symbolic as it held on the 38th anniversary of the creation of the state.
Amosun, who maintained that Osoba remains the party’s leader, disclosed that he had consulted with the former governor on the three additional members to be included in the registration committee. He said, “Our party has a history. We have ways of resolving issues. Please let us dwell on the things that will unite us and shun things that will create confusion. I’m sure everybody will be happy with the way we conduct our affairs.
“All of us are one and nobody should do anything that will send bad signals out. We must all come together and make sure everybody is registered. We still have hurdles to cross. Other parties would come and I think we should conserve our energy to face them politically.”
-Source: Uhuru Times
