Call Oyo INEC REC To Order On PDP Crisis in Oyo State, Factional Chairman Tells Prof Yakubu

By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan

Factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Honourable. Michael Okunlade on Monday asked the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor. Mahmood Yakubu to call the Oyo State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC) Barrister Mutiu Agboke to order.
The PDP factional Chairman in a statement personally signed by him said this became necessary in view of the comments of Oyo INEC REC on the last Saturday state congress of the party in  Oyo state.
Honourable Okunlade said there is the need for Barrister Agboke to stay clear of the crisis rocking PDP in Oyo rather than saying his men were only at the PDP state congress held at the Lekan Salami Stadium last Saturday, adding, with the purported comments, the INEC REC has portrayed himself as bias and being mischievous on the PDP crisis in Oyo state.
” We, the authentic PDP in Oyo state will continue to defend our party and we use this medium to call on the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to caution the Oyo REC not to dabble into party affairs”, he said

Honourable Okunlade added, “the role of INEC in any congress and primary election is to observe the procedure which they have done in Oyo state. This is the first time a Resident Electoral Commissioner will be making unguided statement as regards party congresses which is in-house affairs to us in our party”.
” Oyo state is not the only state we had parallel congresses last Saturday and why is it that it is only Agboke that is commenting on our party affairs.”
According to the former majority leader of the Oyo state House of Assembly, it was unfortunate that with the level of destruction of properties by the hoodlums that invaded venue of the parallel congress, the INEC REC could again be coming out with statement capable of setting Oyo state on fire.
Hon. Okunlade emphasized that the National Secretariat of the PDP was aware of the parallel congress in Oyo State with INEC officials present at the Jogor centre to monitor the process of the parallel congress .
Insisting that despite the claim by the Oyo INEC REC, Hon Okunlade declared that the PDP state congress held at Jogor centre remained the authentic Congress going by the support received from the National Secretariat of the party,.
Emphasizing that parallel congresses were held in almost all the 36 state of federation, Honourable Okunlade said unlike the Oyo INEC REC, other  RECs in the affected states are yet to dabble into making unnecessary remarks capable of heating the polity
” The National Secretariat of our party was aware of the congress and INEC was on ground to monitor the process, why was he going around to discredit our party? He was only being mischievous and irresponsible.