- Unity Forum has no consensus candidate, all aspirants will contest primaries – Boroffice
- Olanusi report fake, fraudulent, compromised – Ehindero
- Count me out of decision – Adelegan
By Banji Ayoola
A faction of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State, Unity Forum, has named a former member of the House of Representatives and ex National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Alexander Olusola Oke, as its consensus candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
He would slug it out with the incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who has also signified his intention to run for a second term, and other aspirants outside the faction at the yet to be fixed party’s primary election to determine the party’s candidate.
The governorship election is scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to hold on October 10 this year, just five months away.
Chairman of the faction and a former Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, announced Oke’s choice in Akure the state capital, saying: “Gentlemen of the press, considering the mood of the state and continuous ban on political meetings and the fact that INEC has given its nod for electronic campaign, we hereby present to the public the long awaited report of the Ondo APC Unity Forum concerning its governorship aspirant for the 2020 governorship election in Ondo state, as presented by the Gubernatorial Candidate Selection Committee.
The Unity Forum, by the content of the report has adopted Chief Olusola Oke, SAN as the candidate of the Forum. All the leaders and members of the Unity Forum are hereby enjoined to begin mobilisation across the state for the candidate of the forum.”
He said the adoption was based on the report of the forum’s seven man governorship candidate selection committee.
According to him, “During the meeting of the Aspirants on March 23, 2020, a unanimous decision was taken by all the Aspirants that the 7-man Gubernatorial Candidate Selection Committee should come up with a candidate to represent the Unity Forum in the Ondo State 2020 General election. This is due in part to the failure of the Aspirants to reach a consensus on a person to represent them as a candidate.
In taking this unanimous decision, all the ten (10) Aspirants Dr Segun Abraham, Barrister Olarewaju Kazeem, Barrister Bukola Adetula, Prince Dapo Adelegan, Mr Adelami Olayide Owolabi, Mr Akintunde Akinsewa Awodeyi, Barrister Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, Chief Olusola Oke, Engr Ife Oyedele, Prince Jimmy Odimayo agreed to accept the candidate recommended by the Committee. However, one of the Aspirants insisted that he must be convinced that the process would be credible.
Consequently, on March 24, 2020, six members of the committee met and one was unavoidably absent. They debated on the issue of presenting a candidate in line with the Committee’s terms of reference and the concurrence of the aspirants.
As a result, four of the six members opted for Chief Olusola Oke SAN, one opted for a technocrat whose identity was not disclosed and one opted for a female Aspirant.”
He listed the committee members as Senator Yele Omogunwa, chairman; Prof Sola Ehindero, Secretary and members including Elder Mike Adeyeye, Hon Afe Olowookere, Ajiroba Boye Adegbemisoye, Mrs Olukemi Iyantan and Prince Solagbade Amodeni.
A former Chairman of Ilaje Local Government and a member of the Governing Council of Achievers University, Owo, Dr Banji Ajaka, described Oke’s emergence as proper and fit considering his wealth of experience and outstanding leadership qualities.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the screening committee, Prof. Sola Ehindero, a former Vice Chancellor of Atiba University, Oyo has described Olanusi’s report as fake and unauthorised.
In a statement titled “Prof. Sola Ehindero On Unity Group Consensus Candidate,” he said: “The attention of the duly elected secretary of the Screening Committee of the Unity Forum set up to select a consensus candidate for the APC in the next governorship elections has been drawn to a fake report from an unauthorised person.
The said fake report now in the social media, purportedly named one Chief Olusola Oke(SAN) as the Committee’s elected “consensus candidate.”
As secretary to the Committee and custodian of all its delineations and records of the committee, I wish to call the attention of all members of the Forum in particular and the public at large to the following
(1) H.E. Ali Olanusi is NOT appropriately qualified and morally empowered to issue any report on the committee’s deliberations mainly because he is currently a principal suspect in a bribery allegation related to the integrity and credibility of the report of the screening committee.
(2) No input has been made into the report by other members of the parent body which originally set up the screening committee, i.e. the report is yet to be brought the general meeting of the Unity Forum for consideration.
(3) As of today (12.5.20), no consensus candidate has been elected by the committee for which I am Secretary. Hence, the report that has been fraudulently released by Ali Olanusi neither emanates from the accredited secretary’s office nor does it reflect the true deliberations and conclusion of the members of the screening Committee.
Rather, the fake report is inspired, sponsored and programmed by known and disguised enemies of both the Unity Forum and the APC in the Ondo state and it is designed to tactically distract the attention and focus of our collective efforts and determination to rescue Ondo State from the grip of the present administration.
The report is in essence a sponsored, compromised and fraudulent negotiated document to weaken the Unity Forum and pave the way for a WEAK candidate who can collaborate with the present administration in the state to tactically facilitate the resuscitation and emergency of the PDP preparatory to the surrender of the APC administration to the PDP in Ondo state through a previously negotiated agreement.
I therefore urge all loyal and dedicated members of the Unity Forum and the APC in the State to IGNORE Ali Olanusi’s home grown and compromised report. I also appeal to our respected National Leaders (Asiwaju Tinubu & others) & particularly our State Leader Distinguished Senator Ajayi Boroffice to DISTANCE themselves from the fraudulent Olanusi- inspired report.
In REALITY the report represents a coded and very POISONOUS POLITICAL PILL with the potency and deadlines to destabilse majority of our loyal Unity Forum members and destroy our dear party. For now, as the authentic leadership of the party are holding consultations with all the loyal aspirants and the party leadership in Abuja and Lagos to select a CONCENSUS candidate.
I urge you all to continue to ignore and distance yourselves from H.E. Ali Olanusi’s FAKE report which is not only cancerous but which in addition, is already plagued by dishonesty, deceit, inconsistency and fraud.”
Also, the Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ajayi Boroffice has kicked against the Olanusi report in a statement titled “Unity Forum has no consensus candidate, aspirants will contest APC primaries – Boroffice”
According to the statement which was signed by his media aide, Kayode Fakuyi, yesterday, “The Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice on Tuesday said the Unity Forum has no consensus candidate, while urging governorship aspirants to start preparations for the direct primaries of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State.
The media report suggesting that Unity Forum has adopted a consensus candidate to represent the Forum in Ondo APC governorship primary election is misleading.
The fact is that Unity Forum has no consensus candidate. This fact is premised on two fundamental reasons.
Firstly, the political tendencies in Unity Forum could not agree on critical processes that could have led to adoption of consensus candidate. For instance, while some members opted for zoning, some members disagreed. Recently, aspirants participated in a zoning process and majority agreed that Ondo North senatorial district should produce the consensus candidate.
Secondly, when the idea of consensus candidacy was mooted, the understanding was that all seven members of Gubernatorial Candidate Selection Committee must unanimously agree on a consensus candidate. That condition has not been met.
Therefore, it is the consensus opinion of majority of leaders and members of Unity Forum in Ondo North senatorial district and other parts of Ondo State that Unity Forum is yet to present a consensus candidate.
While it is unfortunate that Unity Forum could not present a consensus candidate, it is soothing that all political tendencies in Unity Forum remain committed to the success of the APC in the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State.
As the aspirants embark on campaign for the direct primaries of the APC, I urge them to continue to exercise utmost decorum and rare camaraderie. The outcome of Ondo APC governorship primaries will offer Unity Forum another opportunity to unite together in the overriding interest of the party.”
Also, an aspirant, Prince Dapo Adelegan said Olanusi lied over Oke’s purported consensual selection.
He said in a statement by his TOluwalase 2020 Media Office that: “We write to react to the purported announcement of the Unity Forum on the acceptance of a consensus candidate for the APC 2020 election as follows:
Prince Dapo Adelegan was not a party to any meeting or decision process to announce a consensus candidate.
To the best of our understanding, the other aspirants are still discussing amongst themselves on the possibility of a consensus candidate.
Hence, we continue to stand on our independent and genuine aspiration to contest for the governorship of Ondo State, and our engagement with the leaders of the party and various interest groups across the state is ongoing, and yielding positive result.
Our expectation is that by July 2020, an APC candidate will emerge from a formal Primary and will move on to emerge as the governor of Ondo State in October of 2020 by God’s grace.
We ask our supporters to continue to pray and canvass for a new Ondo State come February 2020.
Let us together change the narrative for the better.
Eyi owu awi, Toluwalase 2020”
Oke, a lawyer, was born on April 7, 1956 in Ilowo, a coastal town in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. His father was from Ilaje and his mother hailed from Imoru town in Ose Local Government Area of the state. He graduated in Law from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife in 1986 from where he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1987.
In 1996, he became the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okitipupa Branch. Between 1997 and year 2000, he was the chairman of NBA, Okitipupa Branch. Also, between 1997 and year 2000, he was a member of the National Executive Committee of NBA. His professional practice provided the platform that earned him the opportunity to blossom in politics and to join others in liberating his people. Today, his law firm has its headquarters in Abuja. He has been listed for the prestigious title of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, three times and in all the three instances, he made it to the final listing.
He served as the National Legal Adviser of the PDP between 2008 and 2012.
In 1991, he was made Local Government Legal Adviser of the Social Democratic Party, SDP. From 1991 to 1992, he was a member of Board of Internal Revenue in Ondo State. Since then, he has combined politics with his legal practice without necessarily leaving one for the other.
He was elected a member, Federal House of Representatives representing Ilaje/Ese-odo federal constituency in 1992. By 2000, he was appointed into the pioneer board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. At NDDC, his team executed and completed over two hundred and fifty projects. What he did on the board of NDDC and the experience garnered facilitated his appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), another intervention agency, in 2004.
In 2005, he was nominated and served in the National Political Reform Conference and in 2007, he served as a member of the Presidential Technical Committee on Niger Delta. He was appointed the Chairman of the Federal Polytechnic Bida in 2009 and also appointed Chairman, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency between 2009 and 2011.
He was a governorship candidate in Ondo state in the 2012 gubernatorial election. He was a top contender for the APC ticket for the state Governorship election in November 2016. He decamped to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) after the disputed APC primaries which produced the incumbent Akeredolu.
