Oyo APC rejects Adelabu nomination, says Tinubu not fair to members

Lagos Assembly rebukes government for excluding party councils and supporters from candidate list

The Oyo State branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed their displeasure at allegedly being sidelined and not given any ministerial post by President Bola Tinubu.

Some of its leaders, who expressed their anger against Tinubu, said that the president's ability to reward loyalty and political commitment had not been demonstrated to Oyo APC during the selection of ministerial candidates.< /p>

They expressed their dissatisfaction with the appointment of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor Adebayo Adelabu as the ministerial candidate, while no consideration was given to any party member.

One of their grouses is that Adelabu, who quit the APC to run in the last gubernatorial elections on the Accord Party (AP) platform, is deemed inappropriate to to be named while those who worked and spent their fortunes for the APC were not. recognized.

One of the leaders of Oyo APC, who requested anonymity, said the non-recognition of a party member was a deliberate slap in the face to all stakeholders which the president did not judge just to consider as one of them.

According to him, "how do you explain a situation where other states have two or three candidates and Oyo APC can't even get one?" Another party leader said: “It is very risky to comment now. The truth is that we are not treated well at Oyo. I wonder how Adelabu would use the ministerial slot to build Oyo APC. »

Meanwhile, a former deputy national youth leader of the APC, Afeez Bolaji Repete, has called on angry party members to note that no part of the party's and Nigeria's constitution compels the president to choose his ministers from among party members.< /p>

Repete, however, pleaded with Tinubu to consider any member and/or party members in Oyo for further nominations. Party publicity secretary Olawale Shadare said Oyo APC has nothing against the president since it is his right to choose who he wants to work with.

However, a source in the Presidency dismissed the slander among Oyo APC members. He said: There are still places for others to serve in various capacities. Those who understand governance know that being appointed as a minister does not mean importance, but depends on the opportunity given to the person by the president. »

Similarly, the Speaker of the Lagos State Legislative Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, yesterday pleaded with his colleagues who expressed their dissatisfaction with the list of appointed commissioners sent by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for selection and confirmation.

While some lawmakers lamented the exclusion of parts of the state from the nomination, some urged the House to reconsider the slate and others said the candidates' local councils should be added to the slate .

Obasa, who directed House Clerk Olalekan Onafeko to write to the governor, asking for local councils of candidates, reminded his colleagues that the governor has the prerogative to appoint those who will work with him.< /p>