A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress APC in Oyo State, Asiwaju Rotimi Ajanaku has called on the leadership of the party to ensure that all aggrieved members are placated and bring back into the fold.
Speaking with The Point, Ajanaku said the recent statement made by the chairman of APC in the state, Chief Akin Oke that there is no rancour within the party is far from the truth.
“Chief Akin Oke’s denial of any rancour within the party in the state can be describe as an height of insincerity and insensitivity to the problems affecting the stability of the party in the state.
“Can we afford to lose all the party members and loyalists who are currently not with the party and still win 2023 elections? Can future elections be won for the party by the few individuals or opportunists who have benefited and still benefitting from the party? Haven’t those marginalized and unjustly skimmed out at the party’s various primaries that preceded 2019 general elections rights to express grievances and displeasure? Ajanaku questioned.
“Perhaps I should remind the chairman that shortly after 2019 elections when the party first made a move to reconcile its members, the leadership of the party under the authority of the late Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi promised to ensure that those affected by the irregularities that characterized 2019 primaries would be compensated with various appointments. Can the chairman mention or list the names of those who have so been compensated? He queried.
“Should we forget in a hurry how the party was built and formed? Wasn’t it through collective contributions of everyone, especially some of the people we see today as enemies of the party? I think progressivism is a political philosophy in support of social reform, so shouldn’t there be internal social reform? If progressive is said to be “a social or political movement that aims to represent the interests of ordinary people through political change and the support of government actions”, so why would some people turn the party to secret organizations that is established to serve only their selfish interest. That’s why they continue to recycle themselves by fencing out others? Asiwaju questioned.
“In fact, every progressive policy promotes greater freedom, opportunity, or security for everyone. That’s the distinction between progressive and others. While progressive seeks to extend freedom, opportunity, and security to all, others work to limit freedom, opportunity, and security; they redistribute wealth toward the wealthy, power toward the powerful, and privilege toward the privileged, unfortunately that’s the ideology of the type of progressive we inculcate into our party today,” Ajanaku lamented.
“Whereas, the dreams of the founding fathers of our great party, All Progressive Congress (APC) were great, both for us as members and citizens of Nigeria. It’s about a poor child delivering newspapers and one day ending up as the publisher. It’s about an unskilled worker attending night school and becoming a successful manager. It is getting ahead through hard work, and being able to retire in security and comfort,” Asiwaju Rotimi Ajanaku pinpointed.
“Some minute group, who continually flatly opposing opportunity, that is, the right wingers, keep fighting against ending discrimination within the party, even though equal treatment is a precondition for equal opportunity. They don’t even pretend to support equal opportunity in position sharing; instead, they hijacked the control of the party, lobby for government favours, no fair nomination of candidates for appointment, no fair opportunity to members who are not in their caucus to contest in the party primaries for elective positions. They failed to reward hard work, efficiency, commitment and innovation,” Ajanaku alleged.
“To me, as a progressive party, our mission is clear. It is to guarantee that all members are able to realize their goals through hard work, commitment and fair play. The party must provide every person; not just the privileged, with an equal opportunity to pursue a better life—equal access to the individuals dreams.
