Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has insisted that the state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled for Tuesday will go ahead, despite a Federal High Court order halting the process.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting at the party secretariat in Akure, the state capital, on Monday night, shortly after the court ruling, Aiyedatiwa reassured party leaders that the state chapter remains united and is not in conflict.
The court, led by Justice Toyin Adegoke, had issued an ex parte order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC from conducting the congress, following a petition by aggrieved party members.
The state chapter had been faced with a series of crises which in the past few weeks had turned violent, with three people killed during the ward congress and the chairman of the party in the state, Ade Adetimehin, beaten and injured along with some chieftains of the party during a stakeholders’ meeting.
While addressing party members at a meeting ahead of the exercise, Aiyedatiwa stated that the impression of tension within the party was largely fuelled by social media narratives, stressing that the reality on the ground shows a peaceful and united chapter.
“Once the winner emerges, from the Chairman to all the other offices, you will find out that everybody will come together, but before we get to that point, there will be push and pull, which is normal, but it is not to the extent of going to war with one another. We are not at war.
“We are in the social media age; that is why you see all of that. It is a testimony that Ondo State is peaceful and a place to go to.
“Our political culture is getting better and better. We are maintaining what I’ll call a holy culture, a holy tradition of choosing officers,” he said.
On his part, the National Vice Chairman of the party (South West), Isaacs Kekemeke, revealed that the national headquarters of the party was yet to notify him or the committee on the development, emphasizing that there is no rancour within the party.
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