Ahead of November 2024 Governorship poll in Ondo State, a socio-political forum, Ondo Elite Group, has warned against any move to tamper with the political structure in Ondo State.
It alerted that the development might spell doom for the party ahead of the November Governorship Election in the state.
A statement issued and signed by the group’s General Secretary -Chief Yemi Oladiran, counselled the new Governor of the state, Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa, to bring all stakeholders on board rather than causing division within the party.
According to Oladiran, tension is gradually looming within the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over plan by some sections to dissolve the party structure in the state to favour their candidate in the next election.
The group, therefore, warned against interfering in the affairs of the party.
It insisted that those planning to dissolve the APC executive lacked the power to constitute or dissolve its state executive.
According to the group, the APC primaries is coming up in the state in the next few months, and unless those behind the plot retrace their steps, APC in the state might be risking a repeat of the setbacks it suffered in Zamfara in the last general election.
They warned against creating crisis where there is none, urging the state Governor to unite the party in order not to lose the state to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
He said: “Dissolving the state executive of the party will negate the agreement governor Lucky Ayedatiwa signed with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the crisis that engulfed the state over the friction between late governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Ayedatiwa.
“What we are guiding against is the repeat of what happened in Zamfara and we cannot allow this to happen in Ondo State because we play the game by the rules and guided by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Anything we do in the party is guided by the constitution of the APC. I can assure you that Ondo will not allow a repeat of Zamfara treatment. We must go into the next election as one united family.
“No one can truncate a moving train that is moving at a speed of development, like the one we are having in Ondo. The understanding between the executive members of Ondo APC and government is cordial and we should go into this election as one”.
“We’re proud of the leadership of the state chairman, Ade Adetimehin. He has been able to stabilize the party since he became the chairman of the party.
“Nobody changes a winning team; the present leadership has two more years to complete its term. They should be allowed to usher in a new governor after the November election.
“Tampering with the present leadership in the state party or the EXCO, would be counterproductive and spell doom for the party.
Reacting to the plan to dissolve the party’s executive in the state, the Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Alex Kalejaye, said: “It is unimaginable that anyone would contemplate dissolution of the structures of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State in an election year.
“The executive committee of the chapter has never been in crisis or in disagreement of whatever dimension. The Ade Adetimehin-led executive committee has rather built the chapter to an enviable and appealing state that now attracts gladiators from other political parties.
“Political observers will attest that Ondo APC executive committee is arguably one of the most organized and disciplined in the entire APC family across the country”.
He, however, said the chapter will continue to work for the unity of all its members and political gladiators, to ensure further cohesion ahead of governorship election.
Kalejaiye pointed out that the State Executive Committee was committed to total victory for the party at the guber poll, calling for the cooperation of all leaders and elders to achieve this laudable feat.
