Group faults APC elders over Aiyedatiwa’s endorsement

A group within the Ondo State All Progressives Congress, the Ondo Progressive Front, had rejected the party elders’ decision to screen Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and two other governorship aspirants for endorsement.

According Online reports the APC elders also known as Ondo APC Aborigines last Thursday said they had penned down three out of the over 15 governorship aspirants of the party to support ahead of the party primary coming up on April 25, 2024.

Aiyedatiwa is one of the three aspirants chosen by the committee set up by the group. The leader of the group and former Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Sola Iji, said one of the three chosen aspirants would be announced on Tuesday.

However, condemning the action of the elders, the  Ondo Progressive Front, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Monday by its Coordinator and former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Afe Olowookere, said members of the APC Aborigines were biased in their selection, saying some of them had earlier declared support for Aiyedatiwa openly.

Olowookere also blamed the elders for identifying themselves as aborigines of the APC as he insisted that the party was owned by all members and not a few elders.

He said, “Recently, a group of individuals emerged in the Ondo state chapter of the APC and called themselves ‘the Aborigines’ of the party in the state. We recognise the fact that it is a normal development to have tendencies within a large political organisation. But we find it worrisome to see a few individuals arrogating to themselves the absolute right of ownership of the APC in the state.

“Members of this group, in their self-conceitedness, have decided to impose a governorship candidate on the APC in Ondo State even before the conduct of the party’s shadow election which has been slated for April 25, 2024. Media reports said they had set up a committee to screen aspirants for the ticket of the party and that the committee had shortlisted three among the contenders. The reports added that the group would make its report public and announce its preferred aspirant this week.

“What gave rise to this intervention is the gusto with which members of this divisive group advertise their ‘aboriginal’ right and the putrid smell of discrimination in their language and disposition. We see it as an insult to the sensibilities of other members of the APC in Ondo State for members of this group to claim membership superiority arrogantly. If we may ask, what exactly does the group mean by the ‘APC aborigines?’ It needs to explain its concept of the term,” he said.

Olowookere also called on the leadership of the party to warn the elders’ group not to cause division in the party, saying they were being selfish in their choice of aspirants.

“The APC national leadership and the people of Ondo State should beware of their antics. Their selfish choice cannot be imposed on all of us, “he declared.