The Osun Progressives (TOP) has reacted about the alleged attack on its leaders by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, AMILOADED reports.
The group spoke on Thursday through its Chairman, Reverend Lowo Adebiyi, at a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital on Thursday.
The TOP Chairman said, “I welcome the gentlemen of the media to this urgent conference aimed at putting on record, information on attempt by some elements, allegedly within government and our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to attack and murder some of the leaders of The Osun Progressives (TOP).
“It is important that we bring to public knowledge this evil intention, despite that we have informed relevant security agencies who had assured us of taking steps to investigate the information and as well ensure protection of the lives of the leadership and members of our caucus, the Osun Progressives (TOP).
“We state in categorical terms that the intention of TOP is genuinely hinged on refurbishing and re-energising our party, the APC. It is on record that we had wished to consult widely with our 7-point agenda aimed at making the party more attractive, vibrant and repositioned to be a perpetual election winner. But for his trip to Mecca for Umrah, Governor Gboyega Oyetola was the first on our list for consultation. Next to Governor Oyetola was his predecessor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola whom we met the second day of Ileya at his Lagos home on his availability. He was presented with the agenda and after going through it, he declared support for it and urged us to stay focused on it.
“The Osun Progressives, thinking that all rational leaders will buy in to a well repositioned party, however got the shock of our lives when rancorous uproar from the people in government particularly, and a few others who were expectant of government patronage greeted the development. Nonetheless, we discovered that quite a good number of party members welcomed the idea of a rebranded APC. Many who had intended to abandon APC ship and jumped to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sighed a heave of relief with having some people thinking of a renewed and re-energised APC.
“The Osun Progressives has provided hope that tomorrow will be better in APC with the agenda. Because we see better and clearly than members whose personal interests have beclouded the reality that Osun APC leadership, as presently constituted is inept and cannot make it served desired goal, TOP kept trudging on with its eyes on the ball. The Oyinlola government which we challenged in the past was not as virulent as the Governor Oyetola led government of our party since the struggle started. To think that we jointly worked to hoist the government became a joke on us as any party member with traceable connections with former governor Aregbesola is excluded from all forms things in government. The exclusion from the party affairs is not felt so much as Osun APC has long ceded its functions and powers to the Governor’s group, IleriOluwa.”
Adebiyi continued, “The level of naked show of power has totally disoriented the party and its members. Impunity against all none IleriOluwa APC members became the order of the day. This has led to more members crossing over to the Osun Progressives instead of angrily joining another party. It thus becomes easy getting members into our fold and thus we moved and worked on towards the achievement of our agenda. The scheduled congress in the ward, local and state, and indeed National Convention become our focus and we tirelessly worked towards it.
“However, we found out that the Governor’s group, IleriOluwa in cahoots with the party was busy working out how to exclude us as usual, believing that impunity will help them. They must have forgotten that majority of us in the TOP leadership, at the risk of sounding immodest, were veterans of the democratic struggle that re-enthroned the progressives government that was malevolently dethroned and seized by PDP in 2003.
“We applied all the needed tactics to wriggle out and outwit our supposed brothers who suddenly turned enemies with violent intentions on us. In playing the exclusion game, nobody with affiliation with Ogbeni Aregbesola, or even Alhaji Moshod Adeoti who was forced out of the party in bid for the 2018 governorship ticket has been appointed into any government position. If anybody served in Aregbesola government and he is still in Oyetola government, then he is seen by Governor Oyetola and his ilk as strategic to their operations or must have denied link with Aregbesola like Peter the Apostle did when Jesus was to be crucified.”
He further noted that the state government “made appointment into local government and the LCDAs, 68 in all but maintained the exclusion policy”, adding that the development made the Osun Progressives more faithful members who felt cheated by their not being picked for appointment.
The TOP Chairman added, “Also, when the congress came, because the government does not have loyalists, they hid behind an innocuous advise of the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee that ‘consensus be considered wherever possibl’ to say Osun APC is adopting consensus when it was clear that there were two contending interests.
“Governor Oyetola and his group, IleriOluwa lost many more loyalists/members who came to join us at the Osun Progressives (TOP). The IleriOluwa group with government apparatus and the malleable Famodun led party used coercion, so crude and kept away the form selling team sent from Abuja from our reach as part of the exclusion deal. They were however unfortunate. We did what we had to do and legally and obtained forms from the National Secretariat.
“Still pretending that power, naked power in the mould of impunity could do the magic of excluding us, Governor Oyetola, in support of Senator Iyiola Omisore, procured a 5th columnist as chairman of the Osun Ward Congress Committee and made him to trample on all rules and regulations guiding the conduct of the ward Congress. He pretended that he did not know the Governor’s group IleriOluwa wrongly obtained the two sets of forms brought from Abuja with just one teller when they ought to allow each interested party members obtained their tellers individually. The man brought or “bought” from Abuja had to engage in shameful lies to explain away his decadent and atrocious assignment. After finding out that they have failed woefully in stopping the Osun Progressives (TOP), they resorted to shuttle diplomacy at having their impunity endorsed, but it is like that effort failed to yield desired result.
“We are confident that no person with patriotic zeal for the success of APC will allow the atrocities committed in the process leading to the congress passed by. We expect to use all known legal means within the party structure to follow up the right steps we took as against the impunity the IleriOluwa/ outgoing party EXCO committed.
“By the sides, we welcome the Ward Congress Appeal Committee and assured them that we have all necessary evidence and witnesses to proof that we did the right thing and they did the wrong thing. We are very hopeful that they won’t allow themselves to be hoodwinked, harassed to submission or procured like the previous committees, and would rather be dispassionate and hold their integrity sacrosanct in the interests of our party, the APC.
“It is upon the failed attempt, at getting to uphold their wobbling and fumbling helped with the crude use of power that they resulted to self-help attempt at attacking and assassination if the need be, of some leadership of the Osun Progressives (TOP).
“We cannot dismiss the information because we witnessed the orgy use of thugs and violence in the conduct of the congress in some local governments, quite alien to the progressives political platform. Not a few government officials came to collation centres with horde of thugs, cultists carrying dangerous weapons and issuing threats.
“It is worth noting that our members remained unfazed despite all of that, and in spite of the fact that parallel processes were adopted by the two strong groups in the state. While they were doing adoption with their few followers, the Osun Progressives was busy getting their massive members to queue behind candidates of their choice. The police and other security will bear witness to this fact. Incidences were made.
“We are not particularly surprised that things have gotten to this extent because the Progressives platform have been infiltrated by many men from the party that is popularly known as the haven or nest of killers. It is on record that some elements in that party rejoiced to no ends when a particular politician, one of their leaders in the violent business joined the APC as they contended that we will be having a taste of the stuff by which the said politician is made, in terms of impunity, thuggery, attacks and assassinations as he may find necessary.
“May we plead with the authorities; starting from our amiable President, Inspector General of Police, Director General of DSS, Chief of Staff to the president, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to quickly intervene and stop desperate elements in Osun APC from spilling the blood of the innocents for their selfish interests. Anybody’s selfish interest is not enough to spill another man’s blood, a former president of Nigeria once noted. We also call on the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC to take a closer look at, and get more than passing interest in the developing events in Osun APC.
“We equally wish that elders of the APC, especially our father and leader who was a Governor here before, Chief Bisi Akande to take more than mere interest in the squabbles here, even when we acknowledge his earlier efforts as noble but fruitless because the policy of the government is anti democratic. It is only the beginning of rancor that could be determined; nobody can ever predict the extent of its toll, consequences and its end. We at the Osun Progressives (TOP) are not perturbed about all these atrocities and remain committed to the ideals of APC, focused, purposeful, strong, virile and election winner any day is our desire. The present Osun APC leadership cannot provide it,” Adebiyi said.
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