Factional group within All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Unity Forum has declared as consensus candidate of the group, Chief Olusola Oke, the governorship candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 2016 governorship election in the state.
Oke is expected to contest the governorship ticket of the party with incumbent governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu at the party’s primary ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.
Alhaji Ali Olanusi, the leader of the group and a former deputy governor of the state, announced the emergence of Oke as the consensus candidate of the group.
Alhaji Olanusi said One’s emergence was a unanimous decision of the Unity Forum having considered the recommendation of the seven-man Gubernatorial Candidate Selection Committee put in place by the group.
According to him, the selection committee was constituted when all the aspirants seeking the party’s ticket couldn’t reach a consensus on who to pick as the candidate among them.
Among the ten aspirants are Segun Abraham, Olarewaju Kazeem, Bukola Adetula, Prince Dapo Adelegan and Adelami Owolabi.
According to a statement signed by Alhaji Ali Olanusi and made available to Daily Independent in Akure on Tuesday, “One of the aspirants insisted that he must be convinced that the process would be credible.
“Consequently, on March 24, 2020, six members of the committee met and one was unavoidably absent.
“They debated on the issue of presenting a candidate in line with the Committee’s terms of reference and the concurrence of the aspirants.
“As a result, four of the six members opted for Chief Olusola Oke, one opted for a technocrat whose identity was not disclosed and one opted for a female aspirant.””
Meanwhile. Prof.Sola Ehindero, former VC, Atiba University, Oyo and Secretary, Screening Committee of Unity Forum, has dismissed the declaration of Oke as the consensus candidate as fake.
He said Alhaji Ali Olanusi “is NOT appropriately qualified and morally empowered to issue any report on the committee’s deliberations mainly because he is currently a principal suspect in a bribery allegation related to the integrity and credibility of the report of the screening committee.”
Prof. Ehindero disclosed further that other members of the parent body which originally set up the screening committee had not made any input into report of the committee because it’s yet to be brought the general meeting of the Unity Forum for consideration.
He therefore declared that “no consensus candidate has been elected by the committee for which I am Secretary.”
Ehindero urged all loyal and dedicated members of the Unity Forum and APC in the State to ignore Ali Olanusi’s “homegrown and compromised report.”
He described Oke’s declaration as “a sponsored, compromised and fraudulent negotiated document to weaken the Unity Forum and pave the way for a WEAK candidate who can collaborate with the present administration in the state to tactically facilitate the resuscitation and emergency of the PDP preparatory to the surrender of the APC administration to the PDP in Ondo state through a previously negotiated agreement.”