Second Republic Senator Ayo Fasanmi yesterday urged Southwest All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to resolve the crisis ravaging some of the chapters in the region before the preparations for next year’s elections.
He said the surviving associates of the sage, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, were worried by the controversy over state congresses in Oyo State.
According to him, these may undermine the chances of the party in future elections.
Fasanmi, an APC elder, who spoke on phone, sought speedy resolution of the crisis in Oyo, Ondo and Lagos states, warning that delay could be dangerous.
The elder statesman admonished the warring factions and groups in the state chapters to make sacrifice and promote peace in the interest of the party.
Pa Fasanmi spoke on the heels of the rejection of the reconciliation proposed by Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi by party chieftains under the aegis of the Oyo APC Unity Forum.
The Unity Forum, in a statement by its Secretary, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, attributed the crisis to Ajimobi, adding that he was paying a lip service to reconciliation.
He said: “Governor Ajimobi is not known for keeping promises and the reconciliation effort will not yield any fruit. The political landscape of Oyo State and Ajimobi’s political career are littered with carcasses of victims of his deceit. His offer of reconciliation is a poisoned chalice that anyone will accept at his own peril. We reject it.”
Olatunbosun added: “The governor will parade some men of shady character before his kangaroo reconciliation panel and call them members of the Unity Forum. Whoever buys that fraud does so at its own risk. The crisis in the party resulted from actions of the governor; they are undemocratic. The governor cannot, therefore, lead genuine reconciliation in the party…”
Fasanmi said: “I am very worried and sad. I have invested all my life in the progressive camp. Those of us who were associates of Awolowo are sad. We should come together to discuss. The next election is critical. No election can be won on the platform of disunity and crass opportunism.”
He added: “If we continue in this manner, it will be difficult to win the elections of 2019. We should come together. I am worried. In Lagos, Oyo and Ondo APC, there are crises. APC came together, not due to ideological similarity but the fight for federal power. We need to promote democracy in the party.”
Culled from The Nation
