- The Unity Forum wing of the APC’s Oyo state chapter has taunted the ruling party over its loss of the Ibarapa-East state constituency to the PDP in Saturday’s by-election
- The by-election was held to fill the position left vacant by the death of a former speaker of the Assembly
- The faction disclosed that it refused to be part of the election because of the injustice it had suffered in the party
The All Progressives Congress’s Unity Forum wing in Oyo state has attributed the loss of the Ibarapa-East state constituency to the Peoples Democratic Party in the by-election which held on Saturday, May 2, to a weakening of the party as a result of its internal crisis.
The faction thus, called on the party’s national leadership to reflect on the loss, as 2019 approaches, Punch reports.
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NAIJ.com notes that Adebo Ogundoyin of the PDP garnered 6,277 votes to emerge as a member of the state House of Assembly in the by-election which was held to fill the position left vacant by the death of a former speaker of the Assembly, Michael Adeyemo.
The APC’s candidate, Kunle Adeyemo, who is the brother to the late speaker, only polled 4,619 votes.
Reacting to the development, the spokesperson for the Unity Forum, Wasiu Olatunbosun, said the loss was questionable especially since only two weeks before, the party had claimed to have won the council poll in the area by a landslide.
He stated: “Our party lost all the four wards in Eruwa in the election. We also lost two of the six wards in Lanlate. What are the chairmen of the party in these wards doing?
“If the party claimed victory in the last council poll conducted in these areas with almost 10,000 votes, why scoring 4,619 two weeks later? Where are the council poll votes?
“We refused to be part of the election because of the injustice we suffered in the party. This is the result of the problem in the APC.”
Olatunbosun also reacted to allegations that the faction supported the Accord Party in the election. According to the spokesman, if that was true, the Accord Party’s candidate would have won.
He added: “Millions of money was spent to mobilise votes for the APC candidate while the Accord Party’s candidate spent no money. Even though he had no sponsor, he still polled 2,855.
“He would have won with our support. There is a reign of impunity in the party, and it must stop if the party must succeed in 2019.”
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Recall that NAIJ.com previously reported that the Peoples Democratic Party won the by-election held on Saturday, June 2, to fill the vacant seat of the Ibarapa-East constituency in the Oyo state House of Assembly.
The result was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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Source: Naija.ng