A mild drama ensured at the Osun State Government House, Osogbo on Tuesday morning when some members of the All Progressives Congress who are delegates in each of the local government rejected a move by the party leadership to impose House of Assembly and National Assembly candidates on them.
It was gathered that the delegates who were called to the Government House this morning were asked to sign blank result sheets for the State and National Assemblies primaries in their various local government.
But the delegates refused to sign the blank result sheets, asking the State Chairman of the party, Prince Gboyega Famodun, to declare who the party chose as candidate in each of the state and federal constituencies.
But Famodun refused to disclose the candidates of the party for the State and National Assembly, insisting that the delegates must sign the result sheets.
However, Famodun angrily left the Banquet Hall of the Government House where the meeting was holding when it was obvious that the delegates were not ready to sign.
The state had opted for direct primary which enabled all party members holding valid membership cards to vote for the aspirants of their choice at each ward’s collation centre of the 332 wards in the state.
APC had on Thursday and Friday last week conducted primary elections into the state house of and federal House of assemblies respectively.
Non-announcement of the results by the Committee had created confusion as conflicting results had floored social media, apportioning victories and defeats to different aspirants.
While some supporters have been congratulating their aspirants on their victories in the exercise based on the social media results, others have been alleging rigging and manipulation by leaders of the party.
Members of the party, mostly delegates in the 31 Local Government areas of the State alleged party leadership of planning to manipulate them.
The delegates who were called to an emergency meeting at the government house in Osogbo had gathered as early as 8am.
According to them, the purpose of the meeting was not stated in the messages sent to them by the party hierarchy. They were only asked to show up at the government house.
Journalist who was at the government house banquet hall for the announcement of the results of the primary election saw over 500 delegates at the venue.
Crisis started when the first set of the delegates went inside to meet with the party leadership led by the State Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun, the Senate spokesperson and Director General of Oyetola campaign council, Dr Ajibola Basiru, Former Rep member, Ajibola Famurewa; Special Adviser to Oyetola on political affairs, Sunday Akere; among others. They alleged that they were asked to sign blank results sheets.
Moments later, angry delegates stormed outside the hall in protest. They alleged that they were told to sign documents, which they supposedly told them to be the results sheets, but no names were on it.
APC members refused to sign these documents and demanded to know the names of the winners. This made the delegates to believe that they wanted to overrule the democracy of the people and replace the winners of the election with another candidates.
The crowd stormed out in fury and disappointment and protested that the will of the people, should be the rule and demanded that the results should be announced as the election was free and fair.
“Delegates did not vote. It was the direct primaries. Why asking us to sign results sheets? They are thieves. They want to manipulate the results and we will continue to resist that. The choice of the people should be announced. We can’t sign blank results”, one of the delegates from Ila local government”, one of the delegates explained
Meanwhile, there have been series of protests by the aggrieved members of the party over alleged manipulation of election results by the leadership of the party.
Some members of APC in Ife North Constituency of Osun on Tuesday stormed the residence of the party Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun, protesting against alleged manipulation of Election results in Ife North state Constituency.
The aggrieved members who in their hundreds stormed the residence of Famoodun in protest maintained that the incumbent member, representing the area, Hon Tunde Olatunji was the authentic winner of the contest.
The protesters alleged that the APC chairman in Ife local Government, Mr Awotidoye who collated the results was also a major contestant in the election where declared himself a winner.
They have appealed to the National and State leadership of the party not to accept any forged result of the House of Assembly Primary in the area by the party’s chairman in the Local Government.
Also, scores of supporters of an aspirant for Osogbo Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Abosede Ogo-Oluwa, on Sunday stormed Government house , GRA Oke-Fia, Osogbo to agitate against the delay in the announcement of the primary election which was conducted since Friday.
The aggrieved members of the party majority who are women and core supporters Ogo-Oluwa called on the leadership of the party to as a matter of urgency announced Ogo-Oluwa who they said is the winner of the primary election conducted on Friday.
They posited that continue delaying in the announcement of the people’s candidate may lead to the upturn of the election results.
Speaking, Ajadi Olohuntosin from Osogbo local government said they wonder why the committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election would delay the announcement of the results, appealing to them to do the needful as the people of the Constituency have waited enough to here the official announcement.
Olohuntosin further explained that from all indications and results released and backed with video clips and pictures of voters lined up for Abosede Ogo-Oluwa during the primary elections as seen and viewed by general public in all designated wards, no doubt that Abosede Ogo-Oluwa remains the winner of the primary election.
He urged the leaders of the party such as Baba Bisi Akande, Engr Sola Akinwumi, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Prince Gboyega Famodun, Mama Titi-laoye Ponle and other Stakeholders of the party to let people’s votes count by announcing the winner, Abosede Ogo-Oluwa to avoid abracadabra.
Echoing a similar views, Abibat Salaudeen from Olorunda local government said they would resist any attempt by who she described by a rejected aspirant to influence the election results.
Salaudeen said they decided to stage a peaceful protest so as to let the public know that they have heard that one of the contestants has been carrying bags of money around to upturn the results of the primary election which was won.
She urged the wife of the president, Alhaja Aisha Buhari, wife of Osun state Governor, Alhaja Kafayat Oyetola and other to come to their aid.
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