As members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, across the country elected ward chairmen yesterday, crisis has trailed the exercise in some council areas.
In Ibarapa Central local government, there were, however, reports of disagreement where a faction of the party said it held parallel congresses, alleging that a larger group of party members were not carried along by the caretaker committee in the local government.
A former chairman of the council area who doubles as secretary of the Osun State PDP caretaker committee, Mr Ademola Ojo, said a larger group of party members carried out parallel congresses in the 10 wards and that their results were signed by INEC officials and security agents and that they would tender same before the appropriate committee.
He accused the caretaker coordinator of the party in the council, Dr Ajibola Muraina, of sidelining a larger group of party members, noting that they had made official complaints to the state caretaker committee without any resolution.
But Muraina, who was a two-term House of representatives\’ member, disclaimed the report that there were parallel congresses in his local government and that INEC and security agents signed the results of such congresses, noting that no such parallel congresses were held and that no INEC or security agency would sign results produced at congresses that were never held.
According to him, four parties including PDP, Accord, Labour Party and Alliance for Democracy (AD) reached a consensus to work together and to harmonise their positions at the ward congresses and that only the SDP was instigated to withdraw from the consensus.
He maintained that the four parties had a ‘yes congress,’ which was witnessed by INEC, Department of State Security and other security agencies, noting that the parties resolved that the SDP could not hold the four other parties back from holding the ward congresses since its people pulled out of the consensus.
