Controversy has reportedly greeted the adoption of indirect primaries to pick Oyo state governorship candidate and other candidates for state and National Assemblies under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of 2019 general elections.
Our correspondence also reports that after two days of protracted meetings with 25 governorship aspirants under the platform of All Progressives Congress(APC) and aspirants to the state and national Assemblies, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of on Sunday, September 9, announced the option of indirect primary election to pick the party's candidates.
It was gathered that the Sunday's meeting offered a cosmetic resolution to the controversy on either the direct or indirect primary would be adopted for the party.
Though there appeared to be a consensus on the part of about 25 governorship, the minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, who has been at loggerheads with the state governor since he became a governor kept away from the meeting.
Transview magazine reliably learnt that the minister was not invited because of an alleged anti party activities against him
It was reported that Sunday's meeting was also the climax of the party's position, though no communique was issued to the press as the governor spoke off hand with a directive that all political office holders insisting on taking part in the indirect primary must resign their appointment on Monday, September 10.
The Sunday's meeting was said to have dwelt more on candidates for states and National Assemblies election while that of Saturday, September 8, was exclusively for the 25 governorship aspirants with the exception of Adebayo Shittu who had earlier threatened that the party would lose the gubernatorial election if he was not picked.
Ajimobi, however, recalled the life time of late Ibadan politician, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu and the former governor of the state, late Lam Adesina who would pick candidates for the party without any aspirant raising any eye brow.
He said that the aspirants should appreciate that he was a democrat by his choice of indirect primary which would come out with the best and unite the party for the coming elections.
It was gathered that the governorship aspirants had earlier stormed the Agodi Government House as early as 8 ‘o clock in the morning on Sunday, September 9, following the governor’s call to have a closed-door meeting with them and the party leadership in the state.
Describing the meeting as cordial, Ajimobi hinted that the meeting provided an opportunity to rub minds with the aspirants as one family in determining the fate of who would emerge as the party’s standard bearer.
He said: “It was a family meeting and spoke frankly with ourselves on the need to for unity and the progress of the party.”
“We also express appreciation to the commitment of the aspirants in galvanising the party; in expanding our horizon, in making sure that through the show of force, as they will say in the military, we have been able to establish that APC is the only party in Oyo state.
"Therefore, when you have this position, there is the tendency for people to begin to fight for offices and we now appeal to all of them that we should work as one family.
“Whatever they prefer either direct or indirect primaries or consensus, the leadership of the party is ready to accept. It is a democracy and we want to ensure that we practise democracy in the truest sense of the word.
The governor added that: “I must report back to you that we are happy about the response we got from our people (aspirants). They are very happy with us and they all agreed that we should all come together and have indirect primaries. And for me, that spirit of brotherhood was very pronounced in the meeting.
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