By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Former Governor of Oyo State, and Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Advisory Committee in the state Otunba Adebayo Alao- Akala on Tuesday cautioned APC gladiators against impunity and disrespect for party supremacy.
Otunba Alao-Akala gave the caution during a solidarity visit to his Awosika, Bodija residence in Ibadan demanding for a fair and just process in the coming APC state congress in Oyo state.
The former governor warned that the gladiators should realised that they cannot be the aspirant and at the same time be the one in charge of the party structure, saying, in Oyo APC, the end has come for the era of Impunity and disrespect for party supremacy.
According to Otunba Alao- Akala, henceforth APC leadership in Oyo State will no longer tolerate distruptive tendencies of those ” whose stock in trade is to put the sanctity and institution of the party to ridicule and disrepute at the slightest opportunity”.
” The era of members of the party going on radio, granting newspaper interviews or going on social media to tarnish the hard earned image of the party has come to an end.Anybody caught in this web of Impunity will be sanctioned appropriately as prescribed by the constitution of the party. There are rules of engagement and it will henceforth be followed to the latter”, he said.
Otunba Alao-Akala added, ” this coming state congress, you members of the party will decide who you want as your leads. They should know they cannot be the aspirant and at the same time be the one in charge of the party structure”.
” You cannot eat your cake and have it. Anybody clamouring for the party structure is wasting his or her time.The party has returned to the people who are the members of the party. No matter how highly placed any individual is, the party is supreme. Anybody that calls him or herself a politician can never be a recognised politician without first belonging to a political party”.
The Oyo APC Elders Advisory Committee Chairman said, ” that political party will serve as your Identity. It is on the platform of that political party that you will ply your political trade.You can never use your surname to contest and win an election, so why can’t we abide by the rules guiding the party, treating that platform that gave you a political leverage with disdain and disrespect will no longer be tolerated.”
Otunba Alao-Akala pointed out that ” the people own the party not any leader or stakeholder.Without you followers, we cannot exist as the leaders you call us”, and that , ” this coming state congress will be an open affair and nobody’s ambition can supercede the interest of the party.”
While assuring that every local government will have a representative on the state executive, the former governor stressed, “we have 36 positions in the state executive and we have 33 Local Government areas in Oyo state.”
” It is a simple arithmetic, each Local Government will have a slot in the spirit of fairness and equity unlike in the past where some local governments had up to three representatives in the state Exco while some had none. We will not recycle old hands, rather, we will ensure that we bring on board a new set of team to steer the ship of the party for the next four years. Even the party primaries coming up next year, It will be an open contest by the grace of God.
” It will be thrown open to all.Those carrying rumours of zoning the governorship ticket are wasting their time.They will be in for a great shocker. I have said it often times and I will repeat it again, it will be an open contest, whoever the party chooses, we will support and we will win the election. It can be anybody from any zone of the state, whoever is interested in contesting for the Governorship ticket of A.P.C in Oyo state should be ready to work for it.It will not be tossed on anybody’s laps. That is where the practical aspect of politicking will come to play. Political theory is far different from practical politicking.”
Speaking further, he maintained that a ” practical politician will always be in the field canvassing and mobilizing for support not making noise on the pages of newspapers and social media.
A.P.C as a party is a progressive minded institution hence Oyo state will tow that line firmly. If the delegates at the party primaries decide to vote for a candidate from Ibarapa North as Governorship candidate of the party, so be it, that is who we will work with and ensure we win the election he declared.
