Leaders of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) caucus within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State have called on Governor Ibikunle Amosun to urgently caution his supporters not to divide the APC ahead of the forthcoming party congresses in the state.
This plea was made by the leaders on Sunday in Ago Iwoye, Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State, while monitoring the on-going APC membership registration in the state
Speaking on behalf of the group, State Secretary of the defunct CPC, Godwin Odeyemi, said the activities of the Governor’s loyalists, put in charge of the on-going membership registration were divisive and if not urgently checked can jeopardise the strength and chances of the party at the next general elections.
“As leaders of the defunct CPC in Ogun, we do wish to express deep worry about how these elements have been going about the harmonisation of our new party in the state.
“We think it was totally mindless and unhelpful for anybody within the APC to hoard registration materials and prevent other co-founders of the party at the grassroots from registering for the party, when there is a greater battle ahead of the party at the 2015 general elections,” the group lamented.
The caucus cited cases in Atikori ward of Ijebu North among other centres in the state where loyalists of the governor hijacked membership registration and prevented other prospective APC members from registering for the party.
The group said it took separate interventions of the State deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun and Senator Gbenga Kaka at different times for some level of sanity to prevail at some of the registration centres.
The leaders also expressed serious concerns about the way the national leadership of the party allegedly skewed party harmonisation and membership registration against former governorship candidates, who are also state leaders of their legacy parties, while tacitly handing over the process to state governors.
They contend that such arrangement may affect the desired cohesion critical for party building and electoral victory due to inherent marginalisation in the process of harmonising the party stakeholders.
The leaders, who later stormed Abeokuta to formally receive Ms Bukky Wright, a Nollywood actress into the APC at Ijoko Ward in Oke Ijeun area of Abeokuta, were received with fun fare and pageantry by associates and supporters of CPC state leader and former governorship candidate.
