Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State has called for the disqualification of two governorship aspirants from the area.
The two affected gubernatorial aspirants are Chief Olayide Adelami and Prince Dapo Adelegan.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu hails from Owo Local Government Area, and it was speculated that he might be behind the action of the party leadership.
While Adelegan is yet to pick his nomination form from the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Adelami had paid N22.5 million to obtain his Nomination and Expression of Interest forms.
In a petition signed by the chairman of the party in Owo Local Government Area, the party said the two aspirants are not registered members of the party in Owo
The petition reads:
‘We are constrained to draw the attention of our leaders both at the state and national levels to the alleged participation of both Messrs Olayide Adelami and Dapo Adelegan in the forthcoming APC Primary in Ondo State scheduled for July. 2020.
‘While Mr Olaylde Adelami has purchased the Nomination Form and Expression of Interest Form of our great party, Mr Dapo Adelegan is yet to collect his own Form.
‘We write to state unequivocally that both of them are not known to be members of APC in Owo local government and we stand to be corrected by this our claim.
‘We reliably gathered that while Mr Olayide Adelami is claiming to be from lgboroko 2 Ward 3, Mr Dapo Adeiegan is claiming to be from ljebu 2 Ward 5 in Owo Local Government.
‘It would amuse our respected leaders to inform you that few of our members who could claim to know Mr Olayide Adelami was when he retired as a Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly and during his Home-Coming, a reception was organized for him in 2018 or thereabout by some Owo Indigenes in the local government.
‘He had not before now registered or participated in any party activities.’
Reacting, the media aide to Chief Adelami, Mr Rahman Yusuf, said the petition was mischievous.
He said the petitioners were forced to sign it at gunpoint, alleging that the action was perpetrated by two Special Advisers to the Governor, Fatai Lawal and Aminu Raimi, who are also from the Owo area.
Yusuf expressed confidence that the APC Screening Committee on the Ondo State governorship election would clear Adelami as a registered and bonafide member of the party at Igboroko 2 ward 3 in Owo Local Government Area.
