From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State may participate in the local government election, slated for April 2024 in the state, being controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The announcement was made following a stakeholder meeting held on Saturday, where the majority consensus was in favour of the party fielding candidates for the council poll. The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) had announced the timetable for the council election.
The spokesperson for Oyo APC, Olawale Sadare, confirmed that they are almost certain to participate and are making arrangements to win most of the available seats in the local government areas and local council development areas.
According to Sadare, the decision to participate came after serious pressure from the party faithful, who wanted to contest and serve the masses at the grassroots as council chairmen and councillors.
He told our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Saturday that it was true the opposition party would participate in the council poll. “The unanimous decision at the stakeholder meeting held today at our (Oke-Ado) state secretariat was that we would participate with a view to winning most of the available seats in the local government areas and local council development areas.
He argued that APC has seen what the present administration has turned the third tier of government into in the last four years, saying it is now imperative for the APC to rescue the situation.
The local government election is slated for April 2024, with political parties expected to begin electioneering activities and party primaries to produce their respective chairmanship and councilorship candidates.
The unanimous decision at the stakeholder meeting held today at our (Oke-Ado) state secretariat was that we would participate with a view to winning most of the available seats in the local government areas and local council development areas.
“I can assure you that by the time we are done with our final round of consultation on or before Monday, we would roll out the schedule of activities since OYSIEC has written to us about the extension of the deadline for the conduct of primary, which is now August 31, 2023. We are progressives in politics and we are always ready to play our part as democrats. Don’t forget that the main duty of political parties is to field candidates in major elections.
“We have had to face serious pressure from the party faithful, who want to contest and serve the masses at the grassroots as council chairmen and councillors. We have seen what the present administration has turned the third tier of government into in the last four years, and it is now imperative for the APC to rescue the situation. Even Governor Seyi Makinde said it openly that he was not in support of autonomy for local government and this explains why he does not allow the council administrators to function as expected.”
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