Mixed reactions, results trail ‘parallel’ APC ward congresses in Ogun

The brewing crisis within the Ogun state All Progressives Congress (APC), again raised it’s ugly heads during the Party’s Ward Congresses held in all the 236 wards across the state, weekend.


Just as members of the party loyal to the immediate past Governor and Senator representing Ogun Central, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun held it’s congresses, members loyal to the incumbent Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun also held a separate congress.


The parallel congresses however is in total disregard to the directives of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, saying that it will deal with those who hold parallel congresses.


The Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in a two-page notice in Abuja, warned that such individual or group risk being sanctioned.


However, in flagrant disregard to the warning, the two political leaders who had been at loggerheads over the party structure, conducted parallel congresses across the state.


Blueprint correspondent who monitored the exercise in Abeokuta, the state capital, reports that party leaders from both camps stormed their wards with prepared list of executives, which was later adopted after the head count of the party members in attendance.


Both the Abiodun and Amosun camps equally used separate venues, in some wards, for their congress to avoid a clash between the political groups of the ruling party.


At ward 14 in Abeokuta South Local Government area, blueprint correspondent witnessed a congress held by the Amosun’s loyalists at St Louis Secondary School, Onikoko, while Abiodun loyalists held theirs at Anglican High School, Ibara.
From the result in ward 14, Amosun men elected a 27 man executives with Odesanya Clement as the chairman, while Abiodun’s loyalists also announced a 27 executive members with Lasisi Taofeek as the ward chairman.


It was observed that the two groups also held parallel congresses at Yewa North, Imeko Afon, Ado Odo Ota and other parts of Ogun West Senatorial district.
In Ogun East, our correspondent gathered that the Abiodun and Amosun groups held separate congresses in Wards 7, 9 and 10 in Ijebu North Local Government Area.


In Iperu Ward 3, Ikenne Local Government, Gov. Abiodun took part in the congress, describing the exercise as peaceful.


The governor said the Congress in his ward was a consensus arrangement which was ratified through an electoral process, assuring party faithful that he would ensure that the ward is empowered to perform it’s duties.


“What we are doing here today is in line with what the caretaker extraordinary committee on convention planning has prescribed that we do in other to put our house in order in APC”, Abiodun said.


However, the chairman of the Ogun State Ward Congress Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Wale Ohu, declared that there was no parallel election of party executives into the 236 wards throughout the state.


Ohu gave the declaration while briefing newsmen at Ogun State Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Iyana Mortuary, Abeokuta, adding that the ward congress was conducted throughout the state without any hitch.


“nobody will try a parallel congress in the APC because the party gave a clear directive and anyone who tries that is engaging in anti-party activity and it is null and void.


“So we never expected any reasonable and loyal party member to even think of any parallel congress, so there was none”, Ohu said,