A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo state, Mr. Abisoye Fagade, has described the handling of party primaries of the APC in the state as undemocratic, disappointing and capable of frustrating patriots who participate in the process with a view to adding value and move the country forward.
Fagade, the Chairman/Chief Executive of Oyo-Si-Maa-Dun Foundation, is an aspirant of the APC who has been screened and cleared by the appropriate organ of the party to contest the ticket for the Oyo Central Senatorial District in the party primary which has been slated for today in Moniya, Akinyele local government area.
Fagade said on a statement issued on Saturday and made available to pressmen in Ibadan by his Personal Assistant (Media), Comrade Kehinde Idowu, that the way and manner which APC has so far conducted its Congresses and party primaries in Oyo state fell short of expectations as, according to him, most stakeholders have been disappointed.
“We are left with no option than to express our disappointment and frustration at this juncture. Handlers of APC have found it extremely difficult to convince the world that our party is here to do things differently. It is sad we have failed to show the world that we could uphold the principle of transparency, fairness and equity as expected in a constitutional democracy.
“Our present case in Oyo Central is not different from what we have experienced in all parts of the state since the commencement of the primary process. We have an election this morning and reports available to me indicate that the chairman of the Electoral Committee got the Delegate List which would be used as Voters’ Register only a few minutes ago. So, an aspirant like me cannot know who would vote in the supposed election while a preferred person somewhere would have been favoured to claim a predetermined victory.
“Simply put, our party is lacking in internal democracy and decent democratic practice. We have been made to spend a lot of hard earned resources and here we are; no assurance of fairness and justice as the whole process has been compromised in favour of a clique of anti-democratic forces within the system.
“As a matter of fact, I have no confidence in the whole process except the national leadership is ready to review everything and reschedule to restore the dignity which has been thrown to the dogs.” Fagade lamented.
