A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ali Olanusi has decried the level of anti-party activities of some members of the party in Ondo state in the recently concluded general election.
Olanusi said that the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, as the 2019 Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), lost in the state due to the anti-party activities which members of the party engaged in before the general election.
He said this during a stakeholders meeting held in Akure, to appraised the performance of the ruling party in both the Presidential, and the National Assembly election in the state.
The APC Chieftain, who was also an erstwhile Deputy Governor of Ondo State, accused the Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu of initiating the members of APC in Ondo state into anti-party activities after failing to secure the party’s tickets for his preferred candidates in the just concluded National Assembly election.
Olanusi said Akeredolu orchestrate anti-party activities by directing the members of the ruling APC in the state to work for some candidates of Action Alliance (AA) in the 2019 general elections held in the state.
The BOT member noted that though the starwalrts of the party had raise the alarm over the anti-party activity of the Governor earlier before the poll but added that leadership failed to quickly act before the election.
“If Buhari had won the presidential elections in Ondo state, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu would have gotten the credit despite working against the party, APC in Ondo state.
“And we had envisage this problem in Ondo state, and that is why we cried to the National leadership of the party on the anti-party activities of Governor Akeredolu.
“But they failed to listen to us, and didn’t recognised our voice then, for me, i am for the growth and unity of the party. And we shall progress.
“So, we must not allow the monster, who is an ingrate and has no fear of God including respects for elders, and colleagues to come back and rule us here again.
“Let not allow ourselves to be monetised by other politicians but to educate our people while we should vote for right candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
“We must learn how to come together and appreciate each other.A divided house can not stand, we need to work as a team so that our party can move forward.
“We recorded 54 per cent in 2015 presidential election when we don’t have APC as state government, now as state control by APC we performed woefully,”he said.
Similarly, Isaac Kekemeke, a formal Chairman of APC in the state, said the fund disbursed to Ondo state by National leadership of the party for 2019 general election was diverted by Governor Akeredolu.
Kekemeke, who explained that Governor Akeredolu was the major fianacial of the Action Alliance (AA) in Ondo state, said there is need for the party leaders to intervane on the anti-party activities of the governor before the 2020 Ondo governorship election.
“The Governor worked against the APC and he really didn’t want President Muhammadu Buhari to win the 2019 presidential election becuase they did not work for him in Ondo state, rather they all worked for their Action Alliance party” he said.
However, Segun Ajiboye, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, in his reaction said it was rather unfortunate that an elderly person, the former Deputy Governor, would make such frivolous allegations.
“However, it must be noted that Governor Akeredolu is a disciplined and devoted party man.
” True, the outcome of the recently concluded presidential election was unfortunate, but the governor immediately set to work and put all the necessary machinery in place for the governorship and legislative election.
“The result is out there for everybody to see. In a resounding victory, the party won 23 of 26 seats in the recently concluded House of Assembly election.
“It is important to note that Alhaji Olanusi and every other member of the party in Ondo State should come forward and join hands with the governor in this onerous task of developing our state.
YOMI AYELESO , Akure
