Oyo state Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Akin Oke, Monday raised alarm of an alleged plan to disrupt the party’s rescheduled state congress in Ibadan.
Raising the alarm in a statement made available to newsmen, Chief Oke said the party has uncovered plans by the same set of state-sponsored hoodlums who wreaked havoc at a factional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congress last Saturday to attack some APC leaders.
Chief Oke tasked security agencies in the state to rise up to the occasion and prevent the hoodlums from disrupting the rescheduled APC congress adding, to this end, we appeal to security agencies in the state to be on alert.
“We have it on good authority that the same set of state-sponsored hoodlums who wreaked havoc at a private facility where a faction of the PDP held its congress last Saturday have been directed to visit our gathering this Wednesday and unleash terror on our leaders and members with a view to disrupting the congress”, he said.
Chief Oke warned APC members in Oyo state against circulating fake delegate list to be used for the Saturday state congress. The list is purportedly been circulated by some saboteurs and desperate politicians in the state.
He stated that there will be no going back in the party’s readiness for “a hitch-free and successful congress as against the wishes of some anti-democratic forces whose objective is to see the progressive family in crisis ahead of the 2023 general election.
“We would like to state with emphasis that the concocted local government executive members’ list being circulated on the social media platforms in the last 24 hours is fake and should be disregarded as only the national secretariat of our party has the list with them at the moment while they have assured that it would be made public through the right channel at the appropriate time,” he said.
He added that, “It is highly imperative for us to indicate that only delegates and officials are expected at the venue on Saturday as no unauthorised person or group of persons would be allowed entry into the arena”.
Chief Oke stated that the delegates are in two categories- ward chairman, ward secretary and three local government delegates elected during the local government congress held on July 31, 2021 as well as statutory delegates specified in the constitution of our great party.
“We regret the situation that led to the postponement of the exercise last Saturday after some of our members expected at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium venue had arrived and started a carnival-like engagement We are indeed glad to inform members of the general public that there is no cause for alarm as the exercise will now come up this Saturday at the same venue.”