2023: No Plan to Impose Candidate on Party, Says APC

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun West Senatorial District of Ogun State, Mr. Mohammed Azeez, has faulted the claim by some leaders in the district that the party was planning to impose Senator Olamilekan Adeola on them as the senatorial candidate of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Azeez, in a statement made available to journalists in Abeokuta, yesterday insisted that the party would choose its candidates in line with the laid down rules and guidelines of the party.

An acclaimed Sikiru Adegbite leader of the party in the Senatorial District was reported in the media to have accused the National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of conniving with other leaders of the party to impose Adeola, popularly known as YAYI, on the party’s as the senatorial candidate.

But, reacting to the allegation, the chairman of APC in Ogun West Senatorial District, denied that there was any plan to impose YAYI or any other candidate on the party.

Azeez described the report as falsehood, which was fictitiously concocted to discredit the party and Tinubu for no just cause.

He, however, urged members of the party aspiring for public offices to desist from engaging in smear campaign and name calling.

He said: “As the elected APC Ogun West Senatorial District chairman, I am not aware of any prominent leaders of APC from Ogun West meeting and asking our national leader, Tinubu, not to impose Senator Olamilekan Adeola, on them.”

“The duly elected leadership of APC in Ogun West Senatorial District has equally not received any request to impose anyone in any position in the race towards 2023.

“Furthermore, we have checked and asked around to know the identity of one “Chief Sikiru Adegbite” who spoke on behalf of the purported prominent leaders of APC in Ogun West Senatorial District and say with all emphasis that there is no APC leader, much less a prominent one, bearing that name and identity.

“We know ourselves. On the contrary, we firmly believe that the said leader is fictitiously concocted by the reporter and his sponsors to purvey falsehood, discredit our party and national leader for no just cause.

“We challenge the reporter to provide any credible means of identity of his fictitious ‘Chief Adegbite’ that spoke to him alone on behalf of nameless and faceless ‘prominent leaders of All Progressives Congress in Ogun West Senatorial District.’

“Let me use this opportunity to advise all aspirants on the platform of our great party not to engage in blackmail and name calling in desperate gambit to get the tickets of our party.

“We are a party of progressives and democrats and will choose our candidates on the basis of our party guidelines and the rule of law as applicable to all Nigerians.

“Every aspirant, particularly legislative aspirants, should conduct their campaign with decorum devoid of falsehood and unfounded allegations and leave the leadership and members of the party to decide who represents them in the race for 2023 election.”