In 35 wards of Osun West senatorial district, it was all smooth as members through the caretaker chairman, Barr Gbadegesin Adedeji of Iwo, Ayedire and Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency adopted consensus candidate option to elect ward executives.
But former Osun Speaker Hon Najeem Salam, who was at ward 4, Ejigbo, alleged the executives were imposed, not elected.
Salem, who is one of the loyalists of Aregbesola, explained: “We have a political crisis in the State. The National does not set up the ward congress committee. The government in power has been cajoling people, harassing party members that are not in support of what they are doing within the party.
“Unfortunately, those that came to the state for sales of form are incommunicado. We only saw it online that they came for stakeholders meetings, people like me were not involved and some other eminent personalities within the party. We are not also involved to talk to them and address the issue on consensus.
“How would you know the stakeholders? Why would people that want to go to an election against another party in 2022 be afraid of the election within the party?
“With what the present administration is doing with the issue of ward congress, it seems they are not ready for the election in 2022.”
“Members conducted themselves in a very free and fair atmosphere; officers were elected in our presence. We saw pure consensus. They all agreed that these are the officers we want, to handle the affairs of the party in our wards, and there is no crisis about that,” he said.
Governor Gboyega Oyetola said the congresses across the State were very peaceful.
“You can see that members of the party are here, you know, in their large number to endorse the congress done in line with the directive of the national secretariat. It is free. Everybody has been allowed to express their wish, and you’ve seen it.
“I think the procedure for the consensus has been properly followed. There have been resolutions in different federal constituencies, we have about nine. And we had a stakeholder’s meeting yesterday. So, I think the procedure has been properly followed.”
The Nation
