The travesty of democracy in Osun APC

SIR: I accidentally stumbled on a written piece in the guardian.ng titled, “The Travesty of Democracy in Osun APC,” credited to one Inwalomhe Donald from Osogbo.

A person writing with such interest about a political party should be a member of such party belonging to a particular ward, which confers on him the locus standi to pen such concern. Anything short of this translates the writer to a fugitive and meddlesome interloper.

That said article is a concocted fallacy of attention-seeking sinking politicians and a ploy by the embattled progressives to win sympathy. It is vexatious. It ought to be ordinarily discountenanced but for the unsuspecting public who may take it for the truth. There is therefore the need to set the record straight.

The writer claims that the governor and the party’s caretaker chairman do not want APC members to freely choose candidates for elective offices. I challenge them to indicate where anyone has been persuaded or coerced to forgo his ambition. Candidates can only emerge during party primaries or congresses, both of which are determined by the party structure and extant laws of the land when the need and the time arise. Good enough, the party’s constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic make unambiguous provisions for remedy where there are infractions.

Could Oyetola be warned to stop re-election for his regular payment of workers’ salaries and implementation of the new minimum wage? Could he be warned to stop re-election for constructing over 60 kilometers of roads without borrowing a dime? On the destruction of the billboard made by the Secretary of the party, rather than playing to the gallery, why wasn’t such information provided to the police, or better still, to the press to expose the haters of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who destroyed his billboard?

That is what is expected of a leader and an elder, not ranting through a writer whose name cannot be linked to any ward or anywhere in Osun State.

The concluding part of the piece is the most laughable as it stands logic on the head. Prince Famoodun who is presently the chairman, caretaker committee of the APC and Alhaji Saninsile who is also the acting secretary were both so appointed by the national leadership of the party and not Oyetola. Assuming without conceding that Oyetola did, it was similar practice under those making this claim.

The Chairman of the embattled TOP, Mr. Adewolo from Osun Eastern Zone was APC chairman while Aregbesola was governor at the same time. So where’s the equity, fairness and justice in their claim?

This reminds me of the clean hand principle in equity. Osun people are satisfied with the Ileri Oluwa team leading Osun for another term as one good term deserves another.
Lanre Akeju wrote from Osogbo.