Some aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State have filed a suit at a Federal High Court, sitting in Akure, Ondo State seeking nullification of the recently conducted party’s ward congress in the local government.
The ward congress which was conducted on July 31, 2021, was described by the party as free and fair as there was said to be a consensus arrangement across the 203 wards in the state. However, the members in Ifedore Local Government are crying foul over the exercise, hence the litigation.
In the suit, the claimants are Mr. Segun Boboyi and Mr. Idowu Adebusuyi, while the defendants included Mallam Mai Mala Buni, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, Tunde Fawoyi and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Claimants in the suit are asking for a court order to set aside all actions and decisions taken by the defendants in the Ifedore APC Ward congress. They also asked the court to grant an injunction voiding the congresses. According to them, the congress was undemocratic, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday on the reason the suit was filed against the party, one of the claimants and leader in the party from the council area , Mr. Idowu Adebusuyi said the party allegedly did not carry along the majority of party members in the local government, saying that was why they headed to court to fight the alleged injustice.
Adebusuyi mentioned that some of the leaders in the local government, including the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Bamidele Oloyeloogun, supported the action they took against the party.
He added that the crisis emanated after a consensus list submitted by majority of APC leaders in Ifedore was substituted by some powers that be who submitted another list at the party Secretariat. Adebusuyi stated that the new list was unknown to majority of party members in the local government.
He said, “We were surprised that a list written by few leaders was accepted at the party Secretariat and ours was dropped. We cried to the governor and he referred us to the deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. After three days, he took us to the party secretariat but the issue has not been resolved.”
The chairman of the Congress Committee in Ondo State, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka, said he was aware of the protest of the aggrieved members but said the matter would be resolved. He insisted that the exercise was hitch-free and there was no rancour anywhere over the congress.
Similarly, In his reaction, the state party Chairman, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, said there was no crisis in the party over congress.
He said, ” Everything that happens is an internal affair of our party and will be resolved. It is a normal thing to have disagreement among brothers and sisters but when an issue arises, the next thing is to resolve and move forward. So I am telling you now that we don’t have crisis in our party.”