A leagueof aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogbomoso zone has appealedto the leadership of the party at the zonal and statelevelsto give room forinternal democracy ahead of the imminent elections into thelocal government area councils (LGACs) and local council development areas (LCDAs) in Oyo state.
The body of the aspirants which operates under the auspices of Ogbomoso Liberation Movement (OLM) held her inaugural assembly at the premises of Ogbomoso Parapo House, Ogbomoso recentlyunder the coordination of Comrade Okikiolu Aderonmu from Ogbomoso Central LCDA.
At the meeting which was attended by many chairmanship and councillorship aspirants, Comrade Aderonmu, who expressed satisfaction over the large turnouts for the meeting,reiterated the resoluteness of the movementnot to condone undemocratic practices in the process of selecting the various flag-bearers of the party in the zone. He stated that the leadership of the party at the zoneshould be transparent in the selection.
He said, “Local government is the closest to the people;it is the only tier that can bring development to the grassroots. Now, people have been waiting for the period when they will entrust power to people democratically.We want our leaders to level the ground for all aspirants and avoid imposition of candidates.
“We are not unaware that the leader of our party in the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, talked about consensus candidates; he, however, stated that where consensus could not be reached, primary election becomes necessary. These and many more are the motives for this assembly”.
While speaking with our correspondents shortly after the meeting, a former Caretaker Chairman of Ogbomoso South Local Government who is also a chairmanship aspirant, Doctor John Fajobi, expressed optimism that the movement would channel its course through cooperation of members.
He stated that the movement would be fruitful if all the members speak in unison. He said that the voice of the aspirants would count because whatever decision is taken by the leaders affectsthem (the aspirants).
The medical practitioner added that the opinions of the aspirants would serve as inputs for the decision making on the selection of candidates for the grassroots elections slated to hold in May.
Comrade Alimi Abdulrauf Alawaye from Oriire South LDCDA, Ahorodadaopined that the movement would help to foster unity among both the chairmanship and councillorship aspirants in Ogbomoso before, during and after the forthcoming grassroots elections in the state.
He, therefore, appealed to all the APC leaders in Ogbomoso and Oyo state to have the interest of the party at hearts when the intra-party elections or selections are being done. He specifically highlighted their target leaders to include:the Governor of Oyo state,Senator Abiola Ajimobi; the State Party Chairman, Chief Akin Oke; Ogbomoso APC zonal leader, Pa Sobaloju Olorode; among other leaders too numerous to mention.
Comrade Alamu Gbadebo, who is also a chairmanship aspirant from Ogo Oluwa local government, stated that the movement would be a formidable force to channel the opinions of the body of aspirants of the party to their leaders at the zonal and state levels.
He said it would be a feedback to the leaders. He maintained that information flow should not only follow top-down approach; it should also be bottom-up.
